Managing director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva, in an interview for CBS TV channel, said they are mostly concerned about the immediate neighbors of Russia and Ukraine, the Central Asian republics, the Caucasus, Moldova, because they have trade relations with both Russia and Ukraine more than the rest of the world, and because of this outflow of people refugee wave in Europe, IPN reports.

“Beyond the immediate neighbors, there are two groups of countries we are very worried. The first group are countries that have yet to recover from the COVID-induced economic crisis. For them, this shock is particularly painful. And the second group of countries are those that are more dependent on energy imports from Russia, because there the impact on consumption, but also on inflation is going to be more prominent,” explained Kristalina Georgieva.

On March 11, the mission chief of the IMF for Moldova Ruben Atoyan, who visited Chisinau, said the Republic of Moldova’s program with the IMF will be reviewed given the necessity of additional financing in light of the current macroeconomic context.

Moldova’s 40-month IMF program, approved on December 21, 2022, is supported by a loan of about US$558.3 million (SDR 400.0 million). The program’s objectives are to sustain the post-pandemic recovery, address pressing developmental needs, and strengthen governance and institutional frameworks. The key policy challenge is to design a prudent policy mix to mitigate the impact of the pandemic and pursue developmental objectives without endangering debt sustainability.