Moldovan acting premier chairs meeting of Interministerial Committee for Strategic Planning

Chisinau, 24 November /MOLDPRES/ - Acting Prime Minister Gheorghe Brega today chaired a meeting of the Interministerial Committee on Strategic Planning (CIPS). The participants in the event discussed opportunity to launch talks on extending assistance programmes. Among them, there are projects on modernisation of the agro-food sector, Competitive Agriculture in Moldova, carried out in partnership with the World Bank, as well as the 2KR Japanese Programme, the government's communication and media relations department has reported.  

Acting Agriculture and Food Minister Ion Sula has said the aforementioned projects had recorded progress and helped develop the agriculture sector in Moldova. In this context, the CIPS members accepted a proposal on preparing for negotiations with the World Bank of the financing of the second phase of the Moldova Agriculture Competitiveness Project (MAC-P). The first stage of this project, under implementation in 2013-2017, is carried out by the Moldovan government, World bank, Global Environment Facility and the Swedish cabinet. The project's overall budget, including the Moldovan government's contribution, is about 27 million dollars.

Also, the CIPS members backed proposals to extend the 2KR Project, under which, over the last 15 years, over 3,500 farmers have benefitted from about 7,580 unites of agricultural machines on easy terms, of which over 5,400 units have been paid off and handed to owners. The 2KR project has become one of the biggest distributors of agricultural machines in Moldova, with about 40 per cent of all Moldova's farmlands tilled with the equipment purchased within the project. Therefore, the participants in the meeting ruled to make a request the the Japanese side to provide new technical assistance, in order to implement modern technologies in the agriculture sector in Moldova. 

The CIPS members deemed it as opportune to consider possibility to continue cooperation with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) , taking into account that the next period of financing investment programmes is planned for 2016-2018, and the IFAD Management Department will approve the budget and earmarking of money to countries in next December. In the last 15 years, Moldova has benefitted from six IFAD projects worth over 100 million dollars. 

Another subject on CIPS agenda regarded Austria's Strategy of Cooperation with Moldova for 2016-2020. Government Secretary General Sergiu Palihovici specified that the new strategy was meant to continue the normative framework in force, which is at the basis of the Moldovan-Austrian cooperation, and expires in late 2015. "The priority sectors concerning the new strategy also refer to education, infrastructure projects, including water supply systems, as well as transversal aspects, such as: promotion of gender equality and encouraging women's participation in political, social and economic processes," the cabinet's secretary general said.   

The Inter-ministerial Committee for Strategic Planning is a functional body of general competence, without juridical personality, chaired by the prime minister and made up of cabinet members and representatives of the State Chancellery. The committee's work is regulated by the Government Decision No 838 from 9 July 2008. 

(Editor M. Jantovan)