Republic of Moldova to receive $94 million from the IMF, Dorin Recean and Ruben Atoyan announce
The Republic of Moldova has reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to access $94 million. The announcement was made today by Prime Minister Dorin Recean at a joint conference with the head of the International Monetary Fund mission to Moldova, Ruben Atoyan. The decision was taken after the third evaluation of the ECF-EFF programme, supported by the Extended Fund Facility (ECF) and the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
"The government and the whole team will have to mobilise resources internally, streamline spending, have disciplined governance and budgetary discipline. The object is to grow the economy, to improve the investment climate, to support small and medium-sized enterprises and to emphasize and target much better the social assistance we provide to our citizens who are more vulnerable," said Dorin Recean.
Ruben Atoyan, in turn, noted that the agreement is expected to be approved by the IMF management and Board of Directors by the end of April. Moreover, the official specified that the authorities in Chisinau have respected all the quantitative performance criteria.
"The programme is broadly within the agreed parameters, despite difficult circumstances and concurrent crises. The authorities have met all quantitative performance criteria. Reforms are gradually advancing structurally, but further efforts are needed to promote the integrity, capacity and independence of the most important institutions in the area of preventing and fighting corruption and to strengthen the anti-corruption legal framework. Good progress has been made in eliminating inefficiencies and inequalities in the tax system," said Ruben Atoyan.
The head of the International Monetary Fund's mission to Moldova added that the country's economy contracted sharply in 2022 due to the repercussions of Russia's war in Ukraine, low demand against the backdrop of high inflation, rising costs and lower agricultural output. In this context, he noted that the IMF forecasts a modest recovery of the economy in 2023 supported by the restoration of domestic demand and improved growth prospects in partner countries.
On 1-14 March, an IMF mission led by Ruben Atoyan held discussions in Chisinau with the Moldovan authorities in the context of the third review of the ECF-EFF programme supported by the Extended Fund Facility (ECF) and the Extended Fund Facility (EFF). IMF staff discussed recent macroeconomic developments, assessed the outlook and risks for the economy and were briefed on progress made in implementing actions agreed under the IMF-supported programme.
