Governmental and nongovernmental experts look for new economic development model

The crisis augmented the systemic problems that characterize the Moldovan economy, highlighting the necessity of identifying a new economic development model. The economic retrospective of 2009 and the prospects of 2010 were discussed at a roundtable meeting at the Ministry of Economy on February 4. The meeting was attended by employees of the Ministry, national and foreign experts and representatives of the business environment, Info-Prim Neo reports. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Valeriu Lazar said Moldova's economy must be oriented towards export. The structure of exports must be reviewed so as to diversify them. Emphasis should be laid on the export of value added products. Simultaneously, there should be stimulated the internal demand and increased the local supply so as to substitute a part of the imports. Valeriu Prohnitski, executive director of the independent analytical center Expert –Grup, said the modification of the economic growth model means stimulation of investments through all the policy instruments, including by reducing labor costs, not the salaries, and the contributions to the state social insurance fund and the obligatory health insurance fund. According to Prohnitski, the industrial sector should be developed. Industry in Moldova and Ukraine declined significantly compared with other countries of the region. The management of companies, including public, is also to blame for this. The IMF Resident Representative in Moldova Takhir Mirzoev stressed the necessity of encouraging activities aimed at attracting investments. He said that these activities should lead to the removal of the barriers to investment and the improvement of the business climate.