Paul Bermingham: Moldova must become a stable mid-income country

Moldova must become a stable middle-income country, stated Paul Bermingham, incumbent World Bank Country for Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, at a press conference today, Info-Prim Neo reports. Bermingham said that during his four-year term in office Moldova has made considerable progress in conducting reform. “The level of poverty has dropped essentially, because throughout this period Moldova has seen a strong economic growth, despite a host of challenges, external shocks and natural disasters”, said Bermingham. “When I first came to Moldova the country was experiencing a default on its external credits. Now the burden of the debts has been lessened and the economy of the country is quite healthy”, he added. Bermingham pointed out that Moldova should no longer be placed among the low-income countries in WB's reports. “Moldova is already a lower middle income country. And in the near future it could become a stable mid-income country if it puts its ambitious projects into life. Unfortunately, not all the objectives set until present to reduce poverty and obtain a sustainable economic growth have been accomplished. There is still need for prompt reforms”, the WB official said. WB Regional Vice President Shigeo Katsu also praised Moldova for its effort to implement reforms. “Compared with other countries, Moldova's performances are somewhere in the middle of the list”, Katsu remarked.