Ex-premier Vlad Filat said that only a clear view, a country project that would combine the government’s efforts and the efforts of society and would be broadly supported by the development partners can help overcome the crisis that is now experienced by the Republic of Moldova and turn it into a necessary and possible development opportunity. According to him, such a path is indicated by the experience not only of Moldova, but also of all the states of the 21st century. Vlad Filat shared his opinion in a recent posting that is quoted by IPN.
The former premier said the crisis through which Moldova went in 2008 is sufficiently similar to the current one and can serve as a source of comparisons as regards the identification of solutions to the present crisis.
“When I took up in September 2009, the Republic of Moldova was in an economic crisis that was similar to the current one. Remittances, which represented 30% of the GDP in 2008, declined to 27%, the Foreign Direct Investment decreased from 11.4% of the GDP to 2%, while exports of goods and services diminished by 22%. The combination of these and other factors inevitably led to the decline in the performance of the GDP to 9% in real terms or 6.35% of the GDP and a budget gap of 8 billion lei. These disastrous economic data were fueled by isolation and foreign partners’ quasi-total distrust in the Republic of Moldova’s capacity to fulfill its political commitments. Therefore, among the priorities of the Government I headed were to immediately restore the relations with the foreign partners, to stabilize and recover the economy by rationalizing public costs, to ameliorate/direct social protection networkers and to liberalize the economy that was excessively regulated at that moment,” wrote Vlad Filat.
He noted that the first necessity was a major financial injection without which Moldova could not go on. “In not even six months of the takeover, together with the World Bank and the European Commission, we organized in Brussels the Consultative Group Meeting for Moldova where I presented the “Rethink Moldova” program that was worked out by the consolidated effort of the whole Cabinet that was assisted by our development partners. The meeting enjoyed an impressive presence of donors, from the large international financial organizations to the EU and the U.S. and from them to countries that sincerely wanted to support Moldova’s aspirations. The “Rethink Moldova” program that was presented in Brussels on February 24, 2010 was a call to our partners to financially support the objectives and the country view of the Government. The executive’s objectives for which we asked for support were based on five pillars: European integration, economic recovery, the rule of law, administrative-fiscal decentralization and the country’s reintegration.”
Vlad Filat said the results of the meeting were remarkable and suggested the path that the country is to follow at present. “The Consultative Group Meeting for Moldova was a historical success. As a result, we signed support and lending commitments totaling over US$ 2.6 billion. Of this money, the grants represented 52%, while the loans with an interest rate that varied from zero to at most 1.2%, with a grace period of five to ten years, constituted 48%. The largest donors for the “Rethink Moldova” program were: the EU with €550 million, the international financial organizations with €957.52 million, the U.S. with €227.41 million, the EU Member States with €187.57 million, of which €102 million was a grant from Romania. This money was to cover the reform, recovery and development needs of the Republic of Moldova.”
“I presented these figures, data and domestic and foreign actions so as to prove that a crisis can be overcome and turned into an opportunity only if there is a clear view, a country project that would combine the government’s efforts and the efforts of society and would be broadly supported by the development partners,” concluded Vlad Filat.
