World Bank's Country Economic Memorandum for Moldova unveiled in Chisinau

Chisinau, 25 November /MOLDPRES/ - The World Bank’s Country Economic Memorandum for Moldova (CEM) was unveiled in Chisinau today. The document shows the present economic challenges and the opportunities which Moldova can turn to account, in order to boost the development of the economy.     

At the launch of the Memorandum, World Bank Group Country Manager for Moldova Inguna Dobraja said that CEM represents ‘’an essential diagnose which identifies the key problems in the development of the economy.’’ ‘’The today’s discussions till help us identify more problems, challenges and opportunities of development. The Country Economic Memorandum for Moldova is what we call the report on growth for Moldova. This report is usually an essential diagnose which identifies the key problems in the economy’s development.  We hope that this Memorandum might help Moldova prepare its plan on growth and facilitation and we hope that the priorities identified are realizable in concrete time intervals, Inguna Dobraja said.    

Attending the event, Deputy PM, Economic Development and Digitalization Minister Dumitru Alaiba stressed that Moldova needed economic reforms, in order to get an accelerated economic growth of 8-10 per cent in the next ten years.  According to the official, the Memorandum presented by the World Bank Group represents an opportunity to reflect and analyze where we are at present and identify the principal reforms and intervention sectors in which we should move forward for boosting the development.   

„Thank you for the support provided during these years. There is still much work to do. The country needs economic reforms. The present tendencies and the engines of growth are not enough. It might seem too ambitious when I say that we need an accelerated economic growth of 8-10 per cent, which we should maintain during the next decade; yet, at the same time, this would be the only chance for Moldova. We cannot afford thinking in more modest terms. Our greatest nightmare is to have a growth of only 2-3 per cent per year. We cannot afford this; therefore, we should see how we spread the tendencies in the long run and we should see what we must do, in order to continue to stimulate our country’s economic potential,’’ the deputy PM said.         

A WB expert, Marcel Chistruga, said that, according to the Memorandum, Moldova can grow at bigger steps than 5 per cent and reach the level of development from UE during one generation; yet, for this to happen, the country must follow more priorities, including to increase the productivity, to make investments in the infrastructure and improve the human capital. 

Moldova has been member of the World Bank since 1992. According data by WB, starting from 1992, the financial institution has allocated more than 2.1 billion dollars for more than 70 operations in Moldova, covering such sectors as the regulatory reform and development of businesses, modernization of governmental services, fiscal administration, cadaster, education, roads, health, agriculture, water, sewerage and energy.