PM Dancila - IMF delegation meeting

Prime Minister Viorica Dancila had a meeting at the Victoria Governmental Palace on Thursday with the IMF expert delegation, headed by International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission chief for Romania and Bulgaria Jaewoo Lee, which is currently paying the annual visit for the evaluation of the macroeconomic situation, a procedure of periodical consultation with the national authorities. According to a Government release sent to AGERPRES, the PM underscored that Romania registered over the recent years one of the highest economic growths in the European Union, a trend which, according to the forecasts, will continue in the coming years, and for the year 2019 the economic advance is estimated at 5.5 percent of the GDP, in the context of a normal agricultural year and the recovery of the services and investment sector. "Right this morning, Eurostat and the National Institute of Statistics have given us good news again regarding the advance of the GDP. Romania registers the second highest economic growth in the EU in the first quarter of this year. It is a sustainable advance, with all economy branches having contributed to it. The official data on the economic evolution validate the governmental measures and confirm us we are on the right path. Investments will consolidate on the ground of an improvement in implementing projects funded with EU funds, in the context in which the absorption rate has increased to 29 percent, very close to the 31 percent European average, the population incomes have increased, and the national budget funding sources have been widened and diversified. Moreover, the fiscal stimulation measures granted by the Government to the construction sector have led to a significant revival of this activity in Q1 2019, a positive trend that will contribute to economic growth, as well as to speeding up investments," the PM said, according to the release. Dancila also showed that employment has a positive dynamics, at the same time with the consistent increase in salaries both in the private and in the public sector, and Romania maintains its competitiveness level, recording a robust growth of exports and continues to make significant gains in market share in exports, attracting an increasingly larger part of the trade related to the EU's production chains. "Another aspect highlighted by PM Dancila was that Romania has one of the lowest government debts in the EU, being under the 60 percent threshold established under the Maastricht Treaty. Public debt represents 38.7 percent of the GDP at the end of March 2019, according to national legislation, and in accordance to the EU methodology, the public administration debt is 34.9 percent of the GDP, reported on the same date," the release mentions. The PM also said that the Government will continue to implement the governance programme, to Romanians' benefit, in the context of ensuring the economic balance meant to achieve a sustainable development of Romania, through measures that will lead to increasing investment and an efficient allotment of resources. Also participating in the meeting were Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici, PM Chancellery chief Costin Mihalache and ANAF president Mirela Calugareanu. AGERPRES (RO - author: Dana Piciu, editor: Florin Marin; EN - editor: Adina Panaitescu)