Moldova, Japan sign two agreements

Chisinau, 29 June /MOLDPRES/- The Moldovan government today signed an agreement with the government of Japan on granting a loan under the project Modernization of agricultural technology and equipment. The sides also signed a Moldovan-Japanese grant agreement for economic cooperation.

On behalf of the governments of Moldova and Japan, the documents were signed by Oleg Tulea, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration and Yoshihiro Katayama, Japan's Ambassador to Chisinau.

The agreement, drawn up by exchanging notes, aims to confirm the willingness of the Japanese government to offer a preferential loan to the Moldovan government worth about 18.7 million dollars through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The loan is granted for 40 years with an interest rate of 0.1% per year and a grace period of 12 years. The means will be used for the implementation of the program on modernization of agricultural machinery and equipment in the country.

The grant agreement on economic cooperation worth 409 thousand dollars is intended for the project Improving the digitization equipment of the National Library. The project aims to preserve cultural and historical resources of the national cultural heritage and to transcribe in digital format volumes of books, works of art, maps, audio / video recordings etc. of the National Library (about 2.5 million units) and other partner institutions: libraries, museums and archives. At the same time, it will increase the accessibility of the public in the country and abroad to the important resources.

The Japanese ambassador noted that agriculture is "of major importance for Moldova's economy and welfare of people." "We have supported Moldova's agriculture for the last 20 years. We want the agricultural equipment purchased through this assistance to be used in the most efficient way by farmers in the country. Through the other project we want to contribute to the preservation of the cultural heritage of the Republic of Moldova, which is very rich in this respect ", he said.

Currently, about 40 cooperation documents are signed between Moldova and Japan, most of them referring to the provision of financial and technical assistance to our country. At the same time, Japan is one of the main sources of investment in the automotive industry in Moldova.

Over the past years, Japan has funded several projects in culture, including the provision with audio equipment of the Mihai Eminescu theatre and Nicolae Sulac National Palace, as well as modernization of audio-video and exhibition equipment of the National Art Museum of Moldova.

Also, the possibilities to implement a new program to support farmers - Post-2KR, continuous expansion of Japanese companies’ investments in Moldova, carrying out new projects in social sector are currently being examined.