Darmanović: The public debt of Montenegro at the end of last year was 2,76 billion

At the end of last year, the public debt of Montenegro amounted to 2,76 billion euros or about 65,1 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), announced the director general of the State Treasury Directorate at the Ministry of Finance, Dragan Darmanović.

He said that the public debt consisted of the national debt, which was about 62 percent of GDP, and the debt of local governments, about 3,1 percent of GDP.

"Net public debt at the end of last year, taking deposits into account, was 63,45 percent of GDP," Darmanović said after the Government session at which the report on Montenegro's public debt was adopted on December 31 last year.

Darmanović stated that the foreign debt increased the most during the last year due to the withdrawal of funds for capital projects in the amount of around EUR 180 million, of which the majority is for the highway based on the Chinese loan.

"The government also took on debt to finance the budget in the amount of around 190 million euros," Darmanović said.

He also announced that the internal debt increased by around 13 million euros, mostly due to borrowing for budget financing needs.

"Guarantees last year amounted to about 7,4 percent of GDP and they recorded a further decline compared to the previous period, which is the government's policy to reduce the issued guarantees and the risk that the state has based on those arrangements," explained Darmanović.

He said that in the last year, the repayment of debt to residents and non-residents in the amount of 358 million euros was realized and about 15 million euros of foreign currency savings were paid out.

Darmanović also announced that the Government has adopted a medium-term strategy for public debt management, for the period from now until 2020.

"According to the Ministry's projections, the debt will amount to 70 percent of GDP by the end of this year, and by 2020 it will drop below 60 percent and amount to 59,3 percent of GDP. This is also the goal of the government to reduce the debt within the Maastricht criteria in the next three years, so that it is below 60 percent," concluded Darmanović.