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Montenegro’s Delegation in Washington: Strengthening Partnerships with the IMF and the World Bank

24/04/2025

The Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Montenegro (CBCG) teams, led by Finance Minister Novica Vuković and Governor Irena Radović, participate in the regular IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington.


During the first day of the meetings, the delegation held several bilateral meetings with representatives of these international financial institutions.


In discussions with Antonella Bassani, the Vice President of the Europe and Central Asia Region at the World Bank, and Eugen Rhuggenaath, Executive Director of the Dutch Constituency at the World Bank, the Montenegrin delegation discussed important projects carried out in partnership with this financial institution along with future cooperation. The discussion key points included forestry, fishery, wastewater management, and water protection projects. The significant progress in implementing projects contributing to decarbonisation and energy transition was also highlighted.


Minister Vuković expressed gratitude to the World Bank for its strong support through the Country Partnership Framework (CPF), which was approved last September. He outlined the recent and planned reform measures and Montenegro’s efforts to join the European Union. He said that the government’s priorities remain to preserve fiscal stability, consolidate the deficit, and implement the plan to increase budget revenues. He highlighted the recent successful implementation of the bond issue as an essential step towards preserving liquidity and strengthening investors’ confidence in Montenegro.


Governor Radović presented the current situation in the Montenegrin banking sector, emphasising its stability, resilience and positive trends of key indicators, with special reference to the good capitalisation of banks and the continuous reduction in non-performing loans. She thanked the World Bank representatives for their support within the Western Balkans Payment Systems Modernisation project, emphasising the importance of timely implementation of activities related to Montenegro’s accession to the SEPA system and the TIPS Clone project implementation. It was agreed that the cooperation between the CBCG and the World Bank should continue through the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, with a special focus on areas such as licensing non-bank payment service providers, cyber security, and supervision of payment systems.


During the meeting, special attention was paid to the financial inclusion of women. Governor Radović presented CBCG initiatives in this area, including the WE Finance Code Montenegro and Women on Boards projects, and expressed the CBCG’s readiness to launch a regional initiative for gender inclusion in the Western Balkans in cooperation with the World Bank.


Later in the day, the delegation met with senior IMF officials - Executive Director of the Belgian-Dutch Constituency, Jeroen Clicq, and his deputy, Marnix van Rij.


While emphasizing the strong partnership between the CBCG and the Constituency, the Governor expressed her gratitude for the expert support in anti-money laundering and terrorist financing (AML/CFT). The IMF representatives were updated with the latest advances of the CBCG in payment systems modernisation, regulatory alignment, strengthening of the AML/CFT framework and promotion of sustainable and inclusive economic growth. She also highlighted the successful implementation of the assessment of the CBCG Transparency Code, the findings of which confirmed the institution’s commitment to more transparent policy management.


The meeting discussions also included the latest macroeconomic trends and developments and the freshly published April World Economic Outlook (WEO).


Director of the Belgian-Dutch Constituency, Jeroen Clicq, thanked Minister Vuković for voting in favour of IDA21, which, as assessed, sends a strong signal of support and commitment to this initiative.


Minister Vuković pointed out that Montenegro recorded a continuous increase in state budget revenues in 2024, with strong resilience and macroeconomic stability, due to dynamic growth in consumption and investments, with a noticeable decline in the grey economy. He also said that the Ministry of Finance remains committed to transparent and responsible management of public finances and public debt of the state, with timely and efficient fulfilment of obligations from the EU agenda.


The Montenegrin delegation also attended the meeting of the Belgian-Dutch constituency, chaired by the Minister of Finance of Belgium, Jan Jambon. This meeting conveyed that the global economy was facing challenges due to geopolitical tensions and protectionist measures and that free trade, stability and cooperation are key to productivity and sustainable growth.