Chisinau hosting Vienna Economic Forum

About 250 people from 18 countries are taking part in the Vienna Economic Forum, hosted by the Palace of the Republic in Chisinau, Info-Prim Neo reports. At the opening of the event on February 20, President Vladimir Voronin made a presentation of Moldova, mentioning the measures taken with the aim of attracting foreign investment. He spoke about the development of infrastructure, the institutional measures aimed to debureaucratise the process of starting and running a business, the modification of the legal framework, the measures aimed at liberalising the economy and other topics. First Deputy Prime Minister Zinaida Grecianyi referred to the good qualities of the Moldovan economy, saying that the market of Moldova is attractive for investors. Currently, a large part of the investments come from the European Union so that we can say that Moldova is going through a process of European economic integration, Grecianyi said. The Special Coordinator of the Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe Erhard Busek said that Moldova witnessed a positive development in the past few years, stressing that Moldova offers many investment possibilities. A number of foreign businessmen that are participating in the forum told the reporters that they are disposed to invest in Moldova, especially in agriculture and the development of infrastructure. The foreign investment in Moldova in 2007 totaled 540 million dollars. This is about 12% of the Gross Domestic Product. The Vienna Economic Forum is one of the most important European nongovernmental associations that brings together Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Turkey. The major objective of the forum is to promote investment in the region between the Adriatic Sea and the Black Sea. Over 30 worldwide known companies like “Siemens”, “Austrian Airlines”, “Raiffeisen International”, “BENQ Austria GmbH” are partners of the Vienna Economic Forum. According to organisers, this event will enable to present the possibilities offered by Moldova to potential foreign investors and to create a favourable climate for establishing partnerships between the Moldovan and foreign companies.