The Government of Japan will offer the Government of the Republic of Moldova, through JICA, a concessional loan of up to 13.5 billion yen, which is equal to about US$100 million. The budget support will be used to alleviate the impact of Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine on Moldovans and Ukrainian refugees and to support reforms in Moldova so as to enhance the country’s resilience and competitiveness, IPN reports.
In a ceremony, Japan’s Ambassador to Moldova Yamada Yoichiro and Minister of Finance Veronica Sirețeanu exchanged notes on the development policy loan for economic recovery. In the same event, Senior Vice President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Ando Naoki and Minister Sirețeanu signed the loan agreement for implementing the given program.
Based on these treaties, the Government of Japan will offer the Government of the Republic of Moldova a concessional loan of up to 13.5 billion yen. The loan is repayable in 40 years, with a grace period of 10 years, at an interest rate equal to TORF (Tokyo Term Risk Free Rate) + 1.3% a year.
“Japan aims to continue cooperating with the Government and the citizens of Moldova so as to promote the integration into Europe and to help overcome the challenges generated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We stand by Moldova in its effort to build a democratic, prosperous and safe future,” stated Yamada Yoichiro, being quoted in a press release of the Embassy of Japan.
“As a member of the international community, JICA expresses its sincere respect for the extraordinary efforts made by the Government and the people of Moldova since the outbreak of the crisis in Ukraine. By this loan, we support the tireless efforts of the Government of the Republic of Moldova to respond to this crisis and to do the institutional reform,” noted Ando Naoki., Senior Vice President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
“This financial support will be used to finance state budget needs for 2023 and will go to support the political and institutional reforms of the Republic of Moldova, to build resilience and enhance competitiveness so as to reduce weaknesses to future shocks, contributing this way to promoting economic stabilization and the development efforts of the Republic of Moldova,” stated Minister Veronica Sirețeanu.
Over the past few years, Japan has financed a number of projects to improve the quality of life and to promote sustainable economic development in Moldova, including the project to modernize agricultural machinery to the value of 2.1 billion yen, the economic and social development program within which medical equipment to the value of 100 million yen was provided, and the project to improve the fire prevention equipment, in the amount of 1.6 billion yen. There were also financed the 1 billion yen program to strengthen the medical system, the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects or Kusanone program to the value of approximately 215 million yen in 2019-2022 and others.
