PREMIER CHICU CALLS POLITICAL PARTIES TO RENDER SUPPORT TO GOVERNMENT IN ITS REALIZATION OF NEW PROGRAM WITH IMF

Moldovan Prime Minister Ion Chicu has called on all political parties to render their all-out support to the Government in its implementation of the new Program of Cooperation with the International Monetary Fund.

Chicu told a briefing on Tuesday that the day before Moldova had reached an expert-level agreement on a new 3-year Program of Cooperation with the IMF. The Premier said that in the pandemic conditions, Moldova's GDP will shrink by 4.5% this year, with a possible recovery of GDP growth by 4% in 2021.

"This is the Fund's forecast presented during the negotiations. We hope that the Program realization will help re-start our economy, broaden external funding, and create prerequisites for a stable growth in a perspective", said Ion Chicu.

He called the new Cooperation Program "the most ambitious one in Moldova's history". Its financial component presupposes the provision of about US$558 million, of which 85% will be used for Budget support, and only a small part will go to the NBM reserve.

"The Program is unprecedented also from the viewpoint of projected reforms. In the fiscal policy sphere we will be promoting reforms on improving the quality and transparency of Budget realization and on more efficient expenditures. We are intending to continue the consolidation of the National Bank's independence, and to effectively regulate the non-banking sector: until July 1, 2023 micro-crediting shall be regulated by the NBM. In that segment, we need to implement an all-out reform, may be even a clean-up", said the Prime Minister.

Ion Chicu also pointed out reforms to improve the business environment in Moldova, and first of all this pertains to state enterprises and to the energy sector. And for the first time ever, the Program has included measures to consolidate law-governed state and to combat corruption.