The director of the Department for Monetary Policy, Research and Statistics at the National Bank, Sultanija Bojcheva-Terzian, participated in the business forum "Economic Perspectives for Predictable Development" organized by the "Marili" agency. The topics discussed at the business forum were related to the sustainable economy, especially energy challenges as new opportunities in the economy, as well as policies and models for the sustainable development of agriculture and the food industry.

Director Bojcheva-Terzian in her presentation under the title "What does the Macedonian economy expect in the next period?" - view through the spring macroeconomic projections of the central bank", referred to the current situation, as well as the expectations for the economy for this year and in the medium term, in accordance with the last, May cycle of macroeconomic projections of the National Bank. In the context of energy challenges, Bojcheva-Terzian emphasized the impact of the energy crisis on the country's external position, as well as on inflation in 2022.

In the next period, taking them into account expectations for a significant reduction in the world prices of energy and food, a more significant reduction of the trade deficit and price pressures, i.e. their stabilization at the levels as before the crisis, is possible. Therefore, attention should be given to the promotion of green finance, as part of the commitment to the green transition. "Through devising green financial products and channeling resources into green investments, the financial sector can provide significant support to the energy transition of the economy," Bojcheva-Terzian points out.

Currently, the participation of green finance is relatively small, but banks are increasingly devoting themselves to green loans, which are a significant future potential for financing projects for the environment and, in general, for sustainable growth. The National Bank established a regular system for collecting more detailed data on green financing.

"Data from banks on approved loans for green financing show that green lending is growing steadily and at the end of 2022, compared to 2019, it has increased by 114%. The total amount of green credits at the end of 2022 is about 250 million euros. They participate with 3,6% in total loans, but their participation is constantly increasing. Green credits are approved both to enterprises and to the population, but mostly to enterprises", said director Bojcheva-Terzian.

 The National Bank has taken several actions to encourage green financing in the past few years. "Within the framework of the monetary measures, a decision was made to change the reserve requirement instrument, which encourages lending to projects related to the domestic production of electricity from renewable sources, and a Strategy for the activities of the National Bank in the field of energy management is also being prepared climate risks", said Bojcheva-Terzian.

 The business forum is part of the "Choice of the most successful women managers" event, which has been held for 27 years in a row and aims to increase public awareness of the contribution that women make and can make to the development of society and the economy. .