Bosnia should continue with the economic reforms after the new government is formed based on the results of the October General Election, local and international officials said on Monday.

“The first year following the election is a chance for the development of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and this also concerns cooperation with the IMF,” said Vjekoslav Bevanda, the Finance Minister and Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers (CoM), which is how Bosnia’s government is called.

“That’s the best time for making good reform decisions,” he said.

Bevanda spoke after a meeting with the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission in Bosnia, Martin Petri, and said that his Ministry completed a national budget document despite 2018 being an election year and that it will be forwarded to the CoM.

The Fiscal Council adopted the Global Framework of the Fiscal Balance and Policy which foresees an increase of the budget for state institutions for the next year by BAM 16 million, he said.

The loan programme Bosnia has with the IMF is worth BAM 1,1 billion, and the organisation has already transferred two tranches worth BAM 150 million each on the accounts of the two semi-autonomous entities in Bosnia.

(1 EUR = 1.95583 BAM)