Moldovan cabinet approves National Regional Development Strategy for 2016-2020

Chisinau, 6 April /MOLDPRES/ - The cabinet of ministers, at a today’s meeting, approved the National Regional Development Strategy for 2016-2020. The document establishes the principles and mechanisms of implementing policies of regional development till 2020, in strict accordance with the provisions of the Moldova-European Union Association Agreement.

The draft’s authors said that, despite the fact that the regional development policy had been carried out for more than five years, the general goals in terms of diminution of intra- and inter-regional disparities and balanced development of the territory stayed unaccomplished. Nationally, one may further notice the existence of a major discrepancy between the indexes of social and economic development of the Chisinau municipality and of other regions. The differences of development between the urban and rural environments within the development regions are on the rise.

The annual earmarking of as little as one percent from the state budget revenues is a too small amount for carrying out a comprehensive process of regional development. At the same time, there are a string of other national funds: National Ecology Fund, Road Fund, Energy Efficiency Fund, which finance projects related to the regional development process. Yet, a synergy of these funds has not been ensured, the draft’s authors said.   

For the next five years, the government proposes that the planned activities of the regional development process be based on tendencies of EU’s regional development, aimed at diminishing discrepancies between regions and within them. The general objective of the Strategy is to ensure a balanced and sustainable development in all development regions of Moldova. Among the specific goals, there are: access to qualitative services and public utilities, sustainable economic growth in regions and improved governance in the regional development sector.

(Reporter V. Bercu, editor L. Alcaza)