site.btaRomanian PM Ciolacu Meets with International Monetary Fund Delegation

Maintaining macroeconomic stability, a sustainable pace of investments, and continuing reforms are the goals of the Romanian government for this year, said Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu at a meeting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation in Bucharest, as quoted by the government press centre on Friday.

"The recently adopted budget in Parliament includes the largest volume of investments to date, namely 7.8% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). We will prioritize public projects so that those in an advanced stage of implementation receive the necessary funding to be completed at a fast pace. Another focus is supporting projects funded by European funds, for which we have budgetary resources allocated for co-financing. We are taking advantage of this opportunity, which Romania has, both for the dynamics of investments and for the implementation of reforms committed through the Recovery and Resilience Plan and for aligning with our goal of joining the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) by 2026," added Ciolacu.

He made a promise that the Romanian government will continue with measures to support the private sector and pointed out actions aimed at the food industry, construction, promoting industrial growth, as well as investments in energy and infrastructure.

During the meeting, Ciolacu emphasized the government's commitment to stay within budget deficit of 7% of GDP this year and to continue the trend of reducing it in the coming years, in accordance with the fiscal plan agreed upon with the representatives of the European Commission.

In this context, the Romanian Prime Minister highlighted the measures to reduce public sector personnel costs, the restructuring of the budget apparatus, and administrative-territorial reorganization, which are included among the government's priorities for the next period. He also highlighted measures for improving the collection of public revenues through the expansion of digitalization.

The meeting with IMF was part of a series of consultations by the government with international financial partners and the business environment. This week, Ciolacu also met with representatives of the World Bank and several international investment funds.