Kosovo* secures EUR 160 million in loans from IMF for renewable energy investments

The International Monetary Fund will approve a EUR 260 million credit package for Kosovo* for investments in solar and wind power plants and within a precautionary stand-by arrangement, Minister of Finance, Labor and Transfers Hekuran Murati said.

Kosovo* will be the first country in Europe to access funds from the International Monetary Fund’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility, for renewable energy projects, according to Minister of Finance, Labor and Transfers Hekuran Murati. He and Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi visited Washington DC, where they spoke with the representatives of the international financial institution on a new support program.

In a Facebook post, Murati said the IMF would approve EUR 80 million for the government in Prishtina through its newest instrument with the possibility to expand the package by another EUR 80 million. The funds from the Resilience and Sustainability Facility are envisaged for investments in the construction of wind and solar power capacities, he added.

The government in Prishtina reached a deal on a EUR 100 million stand-by arrangement, Minister Murati said

Another EUR 100 million will be approved as a precautionary two-year stand-by arrangement, the minister revealed. Murati attributed the deal to “success in the rapid consolidation of public finances, and prudent fiscal decision making.”

An IMF mission held discussions with Kosovar authorities in March on possibilities to ease the impact of food and energy price volatility and support the government’s efforts to mitigate climate change and conduct adaptation measures, particularly by greening electricity production. Among other conclusions, the fund said after the talks that fiscal and financial governance needs to be strengthened alongside cutting emissions and pollution.