Serbian Finance Minister Siniša Mali touts fiscal resilience at global economics congress

At the 21st World Congress of Economists in Belgrade, Serbia’s first deputy prime minister and finance minister Siniša Mali said the country’s public debt stands at about 43.7% of GDP, far below the Euro‑area average of 88.9%. He noted that Serbia holds roughly €5 billion in reserves, allowing rapid action in crises. Mali highlighted the role of sound fiscal policy as the primary tool for stability, citing Serbia’s quick response to the COVID‑19 pandemic and the 2022 war in Ukraine.

Mali also announced the publication of his scientific monograph “Stability and Sustainability”, which analyses the “multi‑crisis” of interconnected financial, geopolitical and climate shocks. The book presents 14 papers on fiscal decentralisation, public‑sector restructuring and long‑term growth, and includes a case study of Belgrade’s reform that halved its budget deficit and turned a loss‑making public sector into a profit‑generating one. He stressed that maintaining macro‑economic stability and building fiscal reserves are prerequisites for sustainable development and for responding to future shocks.