nine indicators, in april 2017, the nbrm officially launched the initiative to join this highest data dissemination standard. at that time, we were already sure that we passed the right path and that we came within an ace of attaining our goal – to the moment that we mark with today ’ s event. dear ladies and gentlemen, on a global scale, it has long been resolved that quality data dissemination is key to use the benefits of statistics. therefore, i can say for certain that 28 january 2019 is a date of historical significance for the macedonian statistical system. but also for the macedonian economy, because it now has an opportunity to be one of the eighteen economies in the world that have a set of statistical indicators according to the highest international data dissemination standard. our cooperative journey to the sdds plus does not end here. we will have to fight off more challenges. we need to continue to work with the same commitment as so far to deliver the other four indicators. we are already actively working in this field and some of these data, in particular the data on the sectoral financial accounts produced by the nbrm, have been experimentally submitted to eurostat. i am sure that we will successfully reach our final destination. we have a vision, we have teams of responsible professionals who work every day to achieve the goals set by the sdds plus, we have excellent interinstitutional cooperation... and all this, which is also necessary to build and develop modern and quality statistics, guarantees us that we will succeed to the end. thank you. 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches

anita angelovska bezhoska : the denar was and remains one of the key pillars of the stability of the macedonian economy address by ms anita angelovska bezhoska, governor of the national bank of the republic of north macedonia, on the 29th anniversary of the monetary independence, skopje, 26 april 2021. * * * monetary sovereignty is one of the main components of the sovereignty of any state. today we mark 29 years since the laying of the foundations of our monetary independence – the day when the denar replaced the yugoslav dinar, and the national bank began to function as an independent central bank, facing numerous challenges in those turbulent times of separation from the former yugoslav state. looking back through years, we can freely say that the monetary independence took place in an extremely difficult period marked with high macroeconomic instability as its main feature. frequent exchange rate devaluations, when there were almost no foreign reserves, along with structural problems, ignited inflation, which reached four - digit levels, and all this had strong effects on the economy and the living standards of citizens. the economy has been declining 1996, when economic growth of 1. 2 % was registered for the first time since independence. hence, no doubt that establishing a stable macroeconomic environment required great courage, commitment and professionalism of the national bank team. the efforts of the national bank, together with other policy makers and the academic community, have played a key role in ceasing the inflation spiral and stabilizing the exchange rate of the domestic currency. in 1995, the monetary strategy of stable exchange rate of the denar was formalized – a strategy for which then and now there is a broad consensus that it is one of the key pillars of the stability of the macedonian economy. the benefits of macroeconomic stability have been enjoyed for 24 years. our economy is small, commercial and financially open and hence, prone to external shocks. despite the numerous external and internal shocks, the national bank constantly succeeds to keep inflation at a moderate level, which is similar to the european level. low inflation is extremely important for the protection of the real purchasing power of citizens, but also for maintaining the competitiveness of our exports without which small economies like ours can not achieve higher and sustainable growth. the maintenance of low and stable inflation, as the main goal of the central bank, is underpinned by the stable exchange rate of the domestic currency against the euro. the prudent monetary policy, as well as the good coordination