EU and foreign donors to offer USD 1.2 bln to Moldova

The European Union together with the international financial bodies and foreign donors decided to allot over USD 1.2 bln to Moldova (the equivalent of two state budgets) over the next four years for the implementation of the Moldova-EU Action Plan and the Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. This decision was made at the Meeting of Donors on Moldova, which took place on Tuesday, December 12 in Brussels. The Moldovan delegation was led by Prime-minister Vasile Tarlev. Tarlev stated at a news conference that the meeting from Brussels is historic for Moldova, especially because 10 years passed since the last similar meeting took place and the sum of USD 1.2 bln is higher than the total volume of financial assistance provided to Moldova by the foreign donors over the last 15 years. The PM mentioned that the funds will be used for the implementation of reforms in the judicial system, public administration, education, health, infrastructure, as well as for creating new workplaces in the social system, development of the agricultural field by offering long –term credits with a minimum interest rate. The PM mentioned about the necessity of promoting a large number of projects in the aforementioned fields, fact that will bring additional financial support to Moldova. Hugues Mingarelli, director of the EC’s Foreign Relations Department said that Moldova became a reliable partner of EU which will be further on provided with assistance from donors “in order to build a stable Moldova at the entrance of EU”. Thomas Richardson, IMF Mission Chief for Moldova stated that the meeting proved the support offered to Moldova in the reformation process and added that in light of the foreign shocks, IMF plans to increase by USD 45 mln the financial assistance. According to him, the decision on this issue will be made at the meeting of IMF Board Council at the end of this week. Paul Bermingham, World Bank (WB) Country Director for Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus mentioned that together with the efficient implementation of the proposed projects, finances coming from the WB could significantly increase.