The World Bank Group has started preparing its new Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Serbia for 2022-2026. The CPF outlines areas of strategic assistance to the country, prioritizing and aligning the institution’s support to Serbia’s development agenda.
The preparation process includes countrywide consultations with central and local governments, parliamentarians, the private sector, civil society, non-governmental organizations, international financial institutions, the diplomatic community, and academia. The process will gather diverse views from stakeholders on Serbia’s economic and social challenges, as well as on ways the World Bank Group can help address these challenges most effectively.
Background
Following two years of more than 4 percent economic growth and then a recession in 2020 caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Serbia is set for 5 percent growth in 2021, largely owing to a new fiscal stimulus equivalent to 5 percent of GDP. The country is then expected to return to around 4 percent growth in the years to follow.
Accelerating growth will crucially depend on the pace of structural reforms that can boost investment, productivity and competition, while simultaneously protecting parts of the economy that are vulnerable to climatic shocks while enabling a transition to a low-carbon economy. The Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD) Update, completed in April 2020, argues that addressing the key constraints to growth, inclusion, and sustainable development is critical to achieving faster progress and catching-up with EU living standards.
This CPF comes at a critical time, following two decades of a successful - but uneven - economic transformation in the country. Serbia has the choice of returning to the status quo of modest growth or pursuing ambitious reforms to unleash growth and faster convergence with the European Union. The CPF is looking into where the country’s development needs are greatest, where the government sees a catalytic role for the World Bank Group’s support, and where the World Bank Group itself has distinct value.
Your opinion matters
Consultations will be conducted online with a broad range of stakeholders, seeking broader feedback and comments on the overarching objectives of the CPF, in a series of sessions starting May 5, 2021.
For more information, please consult this summary of the Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD), which is an assessment of the constraints Serbia needs to address and the opportunities it can embrace to accelerate economic and social progress.
We hope to receive views from various groups and individuals to ensure that the CPF is fully relevant and realistic in addressing Serbia’s development needs. Please send your comments, questions or suggestions to Gordana Filipovic, Senior External Affairs Officer for Serbia, at the following email address: gfilipovic@worldbankgroup.org.
We would appreciate if you could take a couple of minutes and fill out this short survey to help us better prioritize our engagement at the country level: https://forms.office.com/r/ufAUGRRRN7. Please share your views no later than May 17.
For updates on the process of consultations, please follow our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/WorldBankSerbia/