Germany to increase support for Moldova in development process

Chisinau, 20 Jan. /MOLDPRES/- Germany will further support the Government's efforts in overcoming the current crises, and the assistance provided for the development programs of the Republic of Moldova will increase, depending on the needs of our country, the government's communication and protocol department has reported.

The cooperation agenda between the two states was discussed at a meeting between Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița and Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Svenja Schulze, who announced the increase of support for the Republic of Moldova by 7 million euros. In particular, assistance for enterprises and investments (FACEM Fund), the energy sector, dual education and community development were addressed.

According to Natalia Gavrilița, the Government managed the crises of the last year, at the same time being concerned with creating the premises for recovery and even economic growth in 2023. In this context, the official pointed out the introduction of an expansionist fiscal policy, which provides measures to boost economic growth, increase investments and number of jobs. At the same time, a lot of new tools to support the private sector were launched by the Organization for Entrepreneurship Development and the new legislation on German education model was promoted, aimed to ensure qualified specialists for the real sector of the economy. Thus, the state will provide 50% of the training costs of dual education students, the rest being covered by the partner companies.

"We appreciate that Germany remains by our side in the process of transforming our country into a modern European state and we count on a collaboration that will help increase the resilience of the Republic of Moldova. We aim to be not only a consumer, but also a provider of security and stability in the EU space, and we have already demonstrated this by managing refugee flows, border traffic and security situation in the last year," said Gavrilița.

In this context, the official mentioned the recent introduction of temporary protection measures for refugees from Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova being the only non-EU country that granted them such a high status.

In terms of the energy crisis, the prime minister said that if previously the Republic of Moldova was 100% dependent on a single natural gas supplier, last year Chisinau diversified its sources of supply and made strategic stocks, and currently the right bank of the Dniester does not consume gas from Gazprom. Next in order of priorities is increasing energy efficiency in both the public and residential sectors, but also increasing own generation capacities, including from renewable energy sources.

The officials also approached the measures to combat the consequences of the hybrid war, the reforms initiated in the justice and the fight against corruption, as well as the development projects of localities and communities, including with the support of Germany, which is based on the European Village program.

"Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, you have faced many challenges, but you successfully overcome them and continue to develop the country. You, Moldovans, made an impressive gesture when you opened the doors of the houses for refugees and the Republic of Moldova remains the country with the highest number of refugees from Ukraine per capita. You support them even now through various measures, and we, for our part, want to be by your side, join our efforts and come with the assistance that corresponds to the needs of the Republic of Moldova", said Svenja Schulze.

Photo: Government