Economic support for the Republic of Moldova

The Romanian government has greenlighted the non-reimbursable aid package worth 100 million Euros for the Republic of Moldova.

România Internațional, 28.03.2022, 13:50

An avowed supporter of Chișinău, Bucharest last week took another step towards helping the Republic of Moldova (an ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian speaking population) on its European accession path, which is the only way able to ensure the republics stability, prosperity, economic and social development. The Romanian government on Friday approved the agreement on the non-reimbursable financial aid worth 100 million Euros agreed upon with the Moldovan government in a joint meeting last month.

The prime minister Nicolae Ciuca explains: “In this way, the non-reimbursable financial assistance of 100 million Euros can be accessed by the Moldovan Government, an agreement that supports the Republic of Moldovas efforts for development and reforms, and also its European accession efforts.

The money is to be used for building water and sewerage networks and for rehabilitating educational and cultural institutions, especially in the rural areas. The projects that will be financed with this money will create new jobs and will be able to restore people’s confidence in the perspective of building a future at home, show the Moldovan authorities. This agreement is, practically, the instrument through which we intend to support the firm, solid connection of the Republic of Moldova to the European space, through roads and bridges, through electricity and gas networks, through rural development projects, the Romanian prime minister explained.

At the same time, PM Ciucă went on to say, the agreements aimed at building a bridge over the Prut River, at Ungheni, which will connect with the Târgu Neamţ – Iaşi – Ungheni highway, respectively at consolidating the border road bridge between Galați and Giurgiulești have a strong practical and symbolic significance on the relationship between Romania and the Republic of Moldova.

Bucharest’s support for Chisinau is channeled into several directions. One direction, is, for instance, the Memorandum of Understanding between the Governments of Romania and the Republic of Moldova on cooperation in the field of energy security, as well as the agreement that provides for the reduction of roaming tariffs and tariffs for international telephone calls between the two countries. Another instance of support is the decision of the Romanian Education Ministry to grant 2,550 scholarships for pre-university and university education to the Republic of Moldova, annually, until 2026. Official data show that Romania is the first trading partner of the Republic of Moldova and one of its main investors. The volume of trade for 2021 stands at 2.4 billion USD, a record in bilateral relations, and the policy of the two sister countries is to fully turn to good account the huge potential for cooperation. (LS)