Ljubljana - Rating agency Fitch has affirmed Slovenia's credit rating at A with a stable outlook. The move is based on a number of Slovenia's advantages, including EU and euro area membership, robust economic growth and strong fiscal support during the Covid pandemic, the Slovenian Finance Ministry said.

EU and euro area membership underpins the country's economic and financial stability and institutional strength, the agency said as quoted by the ministry.

Fitch also stressed the positive impact of a high level of domestic savings and external competitiveness. In addition, there has been a robust economic growth and strong fiscal support during the pandemic, which kept unemployment low.

These two advantages also mean a substantial liquidity buffer, which significantly improves the net debt position and financial flexibility, and a low share of foreign currency debt, which is hedged against the risk of exchange rate fluctuations, reads a press release by the ministry published on Saturday.

When it comes to the country's weak points, the agency lists Slovenia's relatively high public debt, but, the ministry adds, it also notes that it is well below the euro area average and that Slovenia is managing it prudently.

Statistics Office data shows that Slovenia's consolidated gross debt at the end of 2021 stood at EUR 38.85 billion, that is nearly 75% of the country's GDP.

In the long term, Slovenia's weakness is also population ageing and the cost pressures related to this. In the context of the war in Ukraine, Fitch considers Slovenia's biggest vulnerability to be energy supply.