anita angelovska bezhoska : address – balkan business week address by ms anita angelovska bezhoska, governor of the national bank of the republic of north macedonia, at the balkan business week, skopje, 7 june 2021. * * * dear all, ladies and gentlemen, the world economy has been faced with one of the most severe threats ever – a pandemic capable of bringing societies to their knees by threatening their livelihoods and wellbeing. western balkan countries, as small and open economies, were not shielded from this global shock, but were caught on a strong footing, amidst solid economic fundamentals and absence of significant disequilibria mirrored in solid growth pattern and moderate inflation. despite this favourable initial condition, the magnitude of the gdp adjustment was immense, with an average contraction of 6. 4 % in 2020, which is three times stronger compared to the global financial crisis. although it is a common global shock that in a synchronized manner affects all economies, the scrutiny of data reveals notable differences in economic losses, which to a great extent can be attributed to the different sectoral composition of the economies, their pre - crisis vulnerabilities and availability of policy space for reaction to the crisis. the dispersion of growth outcomes ranges from - 1 % ( serbia ) to - 15 % ( montenegro ) 1. the recession was particularly severe in countries that rely more heavily on services, especially those largely dependent on social interaction, as well as countries with industries closely tied to the european production chains. yet, according to imf estimates, the shock intensity would have been three times higher without unprecedented monetary and fiscal policy support, both in terms of speed and scale, preventing a more devastating outcome and long - term scarring to the economies. given the lessons learned from the global financial crisis, that is recognizing the risk of self - fulfilling cycles, central banks this time responded quickly, providing ultra - accommodative support such as policy rate cuts from already historically low levels, regulatory flexibility to prevent credit crunch and some of them even experimented with non - conventional tools. in this crisis episode, monetary policy was not perceived as " the only game in town " and since the very beginning, it was coupled with unprecedented fiscal stimulus. average fiscal stimulus in the region amounted around 6 % of gdp, which was twice as low as the global fiscal stimulus, but still on a comparable level with middle - income economies. consequently, the pre - pandemic fiscal consolidation

anita angelovska - bezoska : macedonia – current macroeconomic developments, medium term outlook and challenges ahead speech by ms anita angelovska - bezoska, vice - governor of the national bank of the republic of macedonia, at the ministerial dialogue on the preaccession economic programs on eu candidate countries, european commission, brussels, 9 july 2013. * * * dear ministers, dear representatives of the european commission, european central bank and eurostat, at the beginning, let me express our gratitude to the european central bank, european commission and eurostat for their contribution in assessing our preaccession economic program for the period 2013 – 2015. within the pep we already presented the proactive role of the national bank of the republic of macedonia in dealing with the global crisis consequences, by undertaking a mix of conventional and unconventional measures, aimed at maintenance of the price stability, financial stability, as well as stimulating economic activity. i will use this opportunity to point out several issues regarding the current macroeconomic developments, medium term outlook and challenges ahead. the latest available data on macedonian economy for the first quarter of 2013 indicated a gradual revival of the economy with real annual gdp growth of 2. 9 %, slightly higher than our expectations, being mainly driven by the investment and net export. generally, macedonian economy has been relatively successful in offsetting the crisis consequences which was mainly due to the solid initial conditions prior to the crisis without massive macroeconomic imbalances, the establishment of few new production capacities based on foreign capital that largely contributed to the export diversification, stable and sound financial system and adequate macroeconomic policy mix. the environment for monetary policy implementation in 2013 is quite favorable, considering relatively stable inflation developments and comfortable foreign reserves level. in the first half of 2013, the average inflation was 3. 6 %, mainly due to higher food and energy prices. our latest forecast for the average inflation rate in 2013 is 2. 8 %, with expected further slowdown to 2. 3 % ( close to our historical level ) in 2014, until when no pressures of higher significance by the demand side are being expected. however, there are risks related to this forecast, reflecting the uncertainty about energy prices as well as the world and domestic food prices dynamics and their direct and indirect pass - through to inflation. the performances in the external sector in the first several months of 2013 and the latest estimates indicate quite favorable position in the balance of payments for this year. the reduced trade deficit is neutralizing the lower