9th meeting of the EU – Moldova Parliamentary Cooperation Committee takes place in Strasbourg

On October 25-27, the 9th meeting of the EU – Moldova Parliamentary Cooperation Committee takes place in Strasbourg. One of the participants at the forum is the Minister of Economy and Commerce, Igor Dodon. According to a press-release of the MEC, Igor Dodon presented a report at the opening of the workings of the committee concerning the social-economic evolution of the Republic of Moldova over the last 5 years. According to the report, Government’s policy have been oriented towards the assurance of the macroeconomic stability, the development of the real sector of the economy, promotion of structural reforms, intensification of foreign trade. All these actions, according to the minister, contributed significantly to the economic growth: in 2003, 2004 and 2005 the gross domestic product increased by 6.6%, 7.4% and 7.1% in comparison to previous years. According to Dodon, in the 2001 – 2005, the dynamics of the consumption prices was relatively stable. In 2005, the annual average inflation rate was of 10%, 2.5 % less than the level registered for the previous year. This decrease was also caused by the reducing the pace of increases in tariffs for services and prices for some categories of food. At the same time, the investments in the fixed capital grew, which is one of the major sources of the economic growth. The tendency of increase in volume of investment in the fixed capital maintained during 2005. The rhythm of growth was of 9 % compared to that of 2004. Statistics show that local economic agents accounted for two thirds of the total quantity of investment in fixed capital and 20 % for the sources of foreign investors. One of the Government’s priorities was that of implementing social-oriented measures and the improvement of the system of social insurance of the population. As a result, in 2005, the average wage of an employee in the national economy increased by 7%, also mentioned Dodon. The Minister of Economy asserted that, in conformity with the announced intention of European integration, the R. of Moldova will reorganize its policy in the following directions: assurance of internal stability, development of foreign trade and investment climate, implementation of the RM-EU Action Plan.