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Albanian gov't targets 2 pct deficit in 2017

Xinhua, November 15, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Albanian government has targeted a budgetary deficit equivalent to 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) for next year, the Finance Ministry here said Monday.

According to them, this is the lowest level of deficit registered in the last two decades.

The draft budget for 2017, currently being discussed at Albanian parliamentary committees, targets GDP growth of 3.8 percent in 2017 while it foresees an increase to 4 percent in the medium term, ministry experts said.

The report accompanying the draft budget also showed that the primary balance is expected to be positive for the second consecutive year at the level of 0.7 percent of GDP which is also the highest level recorded in these 25 years, they added.

Therefore, the targeted public debt level is expected to go down by around 2.7 percentage points. The public debt will keep shrinking, experts said.

Meantime, the Albanian Finance Ministry said in a statement that Albanian economic growth will be driven by domestic demand and foreign direct investments, particularly those in the energy sector.

The ministry also said that 2017 draft budget had been agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Speaking of this year, Albania's economy in the first half of 2016 grew by 3.2 percent year-on-year while the governments target full-year is at 3.4 percent, it added. Endit