A mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) starts work in Moldova on October 14. As Prime Minister Vlad Filat said at a briefing, the socioeconomic situation is complicated by the consequences of the financial crisis as well as the wrong economic approaches adopted by the previous government. According to the Premier, the mission is very important for Moldova as the government wants to sign a new memorandum-agreement with the IMF, on which the relations with the foreign donors depend. “We will be able to access the funds that will come from the European Commission and other foreign donors that expressed readiness to help Moldova only after the new agreement is signed. He reminded in this connection of the loan promised by Russia. Filat said a joint meeting of the mission, representatives of the government and the diplomats working in Chisinau is set to take place while the mission will be in Moldova. “After I was invested as Prime Minister, I had a number of meetings with ambassadors of certain countries to which I sent a clear message about the intentions of the new government and we were supported. We count on their support in continuation, including at the negotiations with the IMF. For us, it is important to sign the memorandum with the IMF as soon as possible, but this does not mean that we will act to the detriment of the quality of the document that will be prepared for signing by October 26,” he said. The Premier refereed to recent press reports according to which the IMF demands that the pensioning age be increased and certain social payments be reduced. “I assure you with all the responsibility that no such conditions were imposed. The IMF wants that the macroeconomic indicators in Moldova develop positively so as to be sure that its financial support is not only ‘expense’. The government will make the necessary measures and I want to say once again that the social aspect will remain a priority for the government of Moldova,” Filat said. He also said that at a meeting with the IMF mission this morning, they discussed the steps taken by the government to reform the central public administration. This reform will be extended, but money is needed for this. The IMF officials approved of the actions taken to remove the barriers to foreign and domestic trade, to liberalize the economy. “The assessments point to certain trends that, if strengthened, together with the modification of the budget for this year, could lead to a reduction in the projected budget deficit of 16% of the GDP for 2009, to about 11%,” Filat said. He reiterated that the executive has a well-planned strategy for the talks with the IMF mission and voiced hope that the new memorandum and the donor community will help Moldova overcome the difficult situation.