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Kosovo is expected to join the International Monetary Fund and World Bank by June of this year, stated the Minister of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Kosovo, Ahmet Shala. In an interview for Voice of America, Minister Ahmet Shala, declared that the application process has been completed, and that membership should occur in the upcoming weeks.
“We applied for membership on April 7, a process that is expected to be completed by June this year”, he said.
According to him, the World Bank’s board has already approved the start of the membership process for Kosovo.
Minister Shala was in Washington at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual Spring Meeting representing Kosovo, a trip he said he used to gain economic support for the country, from different representatives from nations worldwide.
“I am optimistic,” Shala said in an interview today in Washington. “We’re very close. We do have a critical mass of the voting power,” he said, without giving a firm estimate.
The deadline for voting is May 5. Acceptance into the IMF is required for inclusion in the World Bank.
“We do have inside information that many countries have voted yes” even though “they still are in the process of political recognition,” Shala said, adding he expects 100 countries will have recognized Kosovo by the end of the year.
Kosovo applied for IMF membership in July. The IMF responded positively recognizing Kosovo as a soveriegn and independent state applicant. The IMF has 185 members.
Hashim Rexhepi, Kosovo’s central bank governor, said while the country’s banks are “very well capitalized” even amid the global financial crisis, exports have been hit, particularly in the metal industry.
Kosovo declared indepependce last year and it has been so far recognized by 58 countries, including USA, Canada, most of the EU and NATO countries, etc.
New Kosova Report