France to support regional development projects in Moldova

Chisinau, 5 October /MOLDPRES/- The French Development Agency (AFD) assessed the functionality and expertise of the Regional Development Agencies of the Republic of Moldova in the fields relevant to supporting regional development projects. This is happening in the context in which AFD has recently obtained an intervention mandate to support programs in areas such as reforestation and irrigation; modernization of water supply and sewerage systems; electrical interconnections and energy efficiency in buildings.

Representatives of the Regional Development Agencies (ADR) South, North and Center had a meeting with representatives of the French Development Agency. The parties discussed the agencies' experience in project implementation, the involvement of these institutions in the process of developing the main strategic planning and programming documents at national, regional and local level.

Also, the new cooperation partners of the Republic of Moldova were informed about the problems that exist in the Development Regions of the country, the limited possibilities of the National Fund for Regional Development. French experts learned about the financing needs that would allow the modernization of water and sewerage infrastructure, the improvement of the environment and the energy efficiency of public buildings, the use of alternative energy sources and the provision of decent living conditions for citizens.

The parties also discussed the development of external assistance projects in line with AFD's regional strategy, which focuses on three priority areas such as: reforestation and irrigation; modernization of water supply and sewerage systems; electrical interconnections and energy efficiency in buildings.

The objective of the AFD work mission was to strengthen the dialogue with the Regional Development Agencies and to deepen the knowledge on the organization of these institutions, their basic attributions and their fields of intervention. However, all these had as final goal the identification of the national development projects, which will be supported with the support of AFD.

The French Development Agency is an organization of the French Government that finances sustainable development projects in developing countries.