Japan offers 2 grants worth USD 1.6 mln

World Bank (WB) Country Manager for Moldova Edward Brown and Minister of Finance Mihai Pop signed an Agreement between Moldova and the International Development Association on Friday, February 23. It includes two grants worth USD 1.6 mln. The grants were offered by the Government of Japan for preparing the second loan for reducing poverty and for supporting the programme on the development of the road infrastructure. Edward Brown congratulated the Government of Moldova for its efforts to reduce poverty and to attract more investments in infrastructure. The two grants aim at supporting the actions undertaken by the Government and the WB to reduce poverty and attract investments in infrastructure, the diplomat said. In a statement of Japan’s Ambassador Mutsuo Mabuchi is said that Japan examines the possibility of offering another grant for the support of small and middle-sized enterprises. The ambassador expressed his conviction that the financial support would increase the capacity of Moldova in fulfilling its national goals on development. “The Government of Japan highly appreciates the cooperation with the WB and has always supported and cooperated with the bank’s projects implemented in Moldova”, the statement reads. The grant for preparing the second Support Loan for Reducing Poverty totals USD 880 and was offered to the Government to implement reforms. The financial means are to be used for improving the investment climate, settling the key deficiencies of the markets of agricultural production means and finished articles, improving the efficiency and management of resources in the public sector and strengthening the systems of social production. The financing activities will include providing technical consultancy services related to the reforms in agriculture, energy, pensions and social assistance. The grant for preparing the Project on the support of the road field programme totals USD 725 thousand and a significant part will be used for feasibility studies and technical designing for refurbishing several roadways. Minister of Transports and Road Management Vasile Ursu, who was present at the signing ceremony, said the amount of financial resources necessary for the refurbishment of roads could not be estimated yet. Ursu said that USD 500 thousand would be spent for the estimation of the costs and the rest of money would be used for designing several portions of roads. The Minister assured the financial means will be used properly. Minister of Finance Mihai Pop mentioned in the context about the agreement between Moldova and the WB regarding a loan of USD 30 mln for supporting the reduction of poverty. The Parliament ratified the first instalment worth USD 10 mln on February 22. Another two instalments are expected to be granted in 2008 and 2009. The first instalment will be disbursed in March 2007. According to Pop, the financial resources from the first instalment will be used for the road infrastructure, as well.