Prime Minister Munteanu: IMF agreement shows Moldova is on the right track
The Republic of Moldova has entered into a new cooperation agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that will last for the next three years. Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu announced this agreement at the beginning of a government meeting on Wednesday, May 20.
This morning, along with my colleagues, I held a concluding meeting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission, which spent nearly two weeks in Chisinau. In simple terms, this means that the Republic of Moldova and the IMF are aligned regarding the country's economic direction. We have addressed certain technical inconsistencies and reached a mutual understanding about the necessary reforms, their pace, and priorities for the upcoming period," stated the Head of the Executive.
The agreement with the IMF is not merely a formality, the Prime Minister emphasized, but "the result of considerable effort."
"For us, this is a clear signal that our international partners believe the Republic of Moldova has a professional team that knows what it is doing. We are progressing in the right direction and at a good pace, even though external circumstances remain quite challenging," Alexandru Munteanu said.
The next step is for the IMF's Board of Directors to approve the agreement.
"Today, at 09:00 Washington time (16:00 local time), a press release from the International Monetary Fund will be published," the Head of the Executive said.
The Republic of Moldova has requested the establishment of a new program with the IMF, supported by the Policy Coordination Instrument (PCI). This is a non-financial program that facilitates closer dialogue with the IMF and serves as confirmation of the institution’s approval of the policies being implemented, allowing countries to attract financing from other sources.
Under the previous program, the Republic of Moldova missed a tranche of approximately $170 million last year, equivalent to about 2.9 billion lei. The authorities explained that the final tranche was not disbursed because no evaluation missions took place during the year, and the financing program expired on October 19.
The IMF mission conducted an assessment in Chisinau from May 7 to May 20.
