The International Monetary Fund cautioned Kosovo on Monday that its budget deficit may exceed a target of two percent of output and that the economy would grow less than the government hopes.
The landlocked Balkan state, which seceded from Serbia in 2008, does not currently have a loan arrangement with the IMF but Finance Minister Avdullah Hoti has said he will hold talks with the lender in Washington in April.
“The government is facing significant commitments from last year; at the same time the revenues are not increasing as fast,” Jacques Miniane, the IMF’s mission chief for Kosovo, told a news conference.
Miniane said Kosovo’s economy would grow “just about three percent”, less than the government’s forecast of around four percent, and that the deficit may exceed two percent.
“Kosovo needs to grow faster than three percent to create jobs,” he said.
Kosovo’s public debt level is less than 10 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
