New Government signs first agreement with World Bank

The Ministry of Finance and the World Bank Tuesday signed the agreement on additional financing to the Competitiveness Enhancement Project, under which Moldova will be allocated Special Drawing Rights in the amount of US$24 million, Info-Prim Neo reports, quoting the Government’s press service. The additional financing is designed to facilitate the private sector’s access to finance and business development services and to improve the long-term lending capacity of the commercial banks. “This project is very successful and the Moldovan entrepreneurs already saw the first results. We are sure that this financial assistance will help achieve even better results,” said Minister of Finance Veaceslav Negruta. The additional financing will be used to scale-up matching grants to Moldovan businesses in improving their productivity, and provide lines of credit for investments and working capital needs of Moldovan export-oriented enterprises The World Bank Country Manager for Moldova Melanie Marlett said the given agreement is the first document signed by the World Bank with the new Government of Moldova. “We are satisfied with the way in which the Competitiveness Enhancement Project is implemented. This financing comes to help the entrepreneurs cope with the financial crisis and become more competitive” Melanie Marlett said, quoted by the press service of the Government. Melanie Marlett expressed her confidence that the cooperation between the Government of Moldova and the World Bank will be intense and efficient.