Gross external debt up almost 2%

Moldova’s gross external debt increased by 1.8% compared to the end of 2022, totaling US$9.763.88 billion at the end of the third quarter of this year. The gross external debt-to-GDP ratio was 62.4%, by 3.7 percentage points lower than on December 31, 2022, IPN reports, with reference to provisional data of the National Bank of Moldova (NBM).

The public external debt accounted for 34.3% of the total external debt, amounting to US$3.347.51 billion (+2.6% compared to the end of 2022). The private external debt was US$6.416.37 billion (+1.4%).

“The implicit average maturity of the long-term external debt in the form of loans has decreased. This indicator is correlated with the evolution of the financing renewal rate, which declined in the third quarter of this year. This is due to the increase in repayments of previously attracted loans, remaining at a high level as a result of the ongoing process of attracting external financing, but with a pronounced downward trend,” the NBM said.

The International Monetary Fund is the main creditor of the state, being followed by the World Bank Group and the European Investment Bank.

Preliminary data show the current account deficit of the balance of payments of the Republic of Moldova in the third quarter of 2023 decreased by 4.8% compared to the third quarter of 2022 and totaled US$599.24 million. The ratio of the current account deficit to the GDP was 13.3%, by 2.1 percentage points lower than in the third quarter of 2022. According to the NBM, the diminution of the negative balance of the current account was due to the decrease in the deficit of foreign trade in goods, but also to the decrease in secondary income surpluses, the balance of services and primary incomes.



An F16 plane of the Romanian Air Forces, while on a mission, shot down an unidentified drone that had penetrated Romanian airspace. The announcement was made by President Nicusor Dan and later confirmed by the Ministry of Defense in Bucharest, reports IPN.

The Romanian authorities announced that the drone was detected by radar at 9:39, at a distance of 20 kilometers from the town of Sulina. Immediately, four fighter planes were lifted off the ground for monitoring and tracking the target. The engagement and downing of the drone took place around 11 o’clock, in Buzău county. According to the Ministry of Defense’s statement, the drone was shot down with a missile fired from an F16 plane, over an uninhabited area, to avoid causing casualties or material damage.

The Romanian authorities have temporarily closed the country’s airspace in the counties of Buzău, Brăila, Vrancea, Galați, and Tulcea. Locals were warned through the RO-ALERT service about the possibility of objects falling from the airspace, and the 112 Service received several calls from the affected area. Representatives of the responsible institutions are at the scene of the incident, an agricultural field between Padina and Pogoarele, announced the prefect of Buzau County, Leonard Dimian.

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Gross external debt up almost 2%

Moldova’s gross external debt increased by 1.8% compared to the end of 2022, totaling US$9.763.88 billion at the end of the third quarter of this year. The gross external debt-to-GDP ratio was 62.4%, by 3.7 percentage points lower than on December 31, 2022, IPN reports, with reference to provisional data of the National Bank of Moldova (NBM).

The public external debt accounted for 34.3% of the total external debt, amounting to US$3.347.51 billion (+2.6% compared to the end of 2022). The private external debt was US$6.416.37 billion (+1.4%).

“The implicit average maturity of the long-term external debt in the form of loans has decreased. This indicator is correlated with the evolution of the financing renewal rate, which declined in the third quarter of this year. This is due to the increase in repayments of previously attracted loans, remaining at a high level as a result of the ongoing process of attracting external financing, but with a pronounced downward trend,” the NBM said.

The International Monetary Fund is the main creditor of the state, being followed by the World Bank Group and the European Investment Bank.

Preliminary data show the current account deficit of the balance of payments of the Republic of Moldova in the third quarter of 2023 decreased by 4.8% compared to the third quarter of 2022 and totaled US$599.24 million. The ratio of the current account deficit to the GDP was 13.3%, by 2.1 percentage points lower than in the third quarter of 2022. According to the NBM, the diminution of the negative balance of the current account was due to the decrease in the deficit of foreign trade in goods, but also to the decrease in secondary income surpluses, the balance of services and primary incomes.


The former director of Moldatsa, Dumitru Vangheli, is said to have left the Republic of Moldova two days before the National Anti-Corruption Center’s raids on the company. The information was confirmed to IPN by two sources – one from the Border Police and another from the political sphere.

According to sources, Dumitru Vangheli left the country on June 28, through a border crossing point with Romania, being a passenger in a car driven by a Romanian citizen. The next day, the driver reportedly returned alone to the Republic of Moldova. The sources claim that the car used to cross the border did not belong to either Vangheli or the driver, but to a third party.

One day after departure, on June 29, the director of the Public Property Agency, Roman Cojuhari, and the PAS deputy Radu Marian, who resigned from the position of chairman of the parliamentary committee on economy, budget and finance, announced their resignations. Radu Marian was the one who recommended Dumitru Vangheli for the position of director of Moldatsa.

On June 30, the officers of the National Anti-Corruption Center, under the procedural guidance of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, carried out searches at the Moldatsa headquarters in a criminal case concerning an alleged abuse of power under aggravating circumstances.

Subsequently, President Maia Sandu has asked the State Fiscal Service, CNA and other competent institutions to rigorously verify the legality of actions from Moldatsa and other state enterprises, regardless of party, kinship or other connections. The head of state declared that she was unaware of any potential abuses.

The Moldatsa scandal erupted on June 18, following a journalistic investigation according to which Dumitru Vangheli allegedly included in his application for the director’s position in 2025, false information about a supposed pilot’s license obtained in Canada and a two-year experience at Air Canada. The information was later refuted by the airline operator, and Vangheli was dismissed from his position.

Two days later, it became public that the spokesperson of the institution, Anastasia Taburceanu, cousin of President Maia Sandu, was employed at Moldatsa, with earnings of over 100 thousand lei per month. She submitted her resignation on June 23.

In a response to IPN, Moldatsa confirmed that Anastasia Taburceanu has fully refunded the salaries received during her activity within the company.

When IPN requested a response, Dumitru Vangheli did not answer either messages or calls.

At the same time, the CNA stated that it cannot provide details about the case, nor information regarding the potential procedural status of Dumitru Vangheli.

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1 IANUARIE, 2025
1 IANUARIE, 2025