Support for the Republic of Moldova

Corina Cristea, 14.10.2015, 13:44

Romania continues its efforts to support the neighbouring
Republic of Moldova, a former Soviet state with a predominantly
Romanian-speaking population, with a reimbursable loan worth 150 million euros.
On Tuesday, Romanian MPs ratified the financial assistance agreement between
Bucharest and Chisinau, and the money is to be disbursed in three instalments.
The first, accounting for 60 million euros, will reach the Republic of Moldova
next month. The maturity of the loan is five years, with the possibility of
early reimbursement with no commission being charged. Attending the
ratification ceremony in Bucharest, the Prime Minister of Moldova, Valeriu
Strelet, said his country was extremely grateful for the loan and that Moldovan
authorities would do their best to spend the money on promoting reforms and
modernising the country. Valeriu Strelet:

There are many things we need to do first, such as
putting in place the inter-connection of our energy systems for the gas and
electricity supply networks, so that European energy, and implicitly the
Romanian energy, may reach each and every citizen of the Republic of Moldova.

The Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta explained
that the difficult situation facing the Republic of Moldova was a consequence
of Russia’s reactions to Chisinau’s European aspirations:

Today, the Republic of Moldova needs financial
support that it can receive from nowhere else than us to overcome a difficult
period caused by the economic sanctions imposed by Russia, following Moldova’s
signing its association agreement with the European Union last year.

The building of the Iasi-Ungheni gas pipeline, the
school-bus programme, Romania’s 20 million euro investment in the
rehabilitation and construction of nursery schools in Moldova, as well as the
development of a Mobile Emergency Service for Resuscitation and Extrication
based on a similar service in Romania, are some of the projects that benefited
from Bucharest’s support in the past. More steps will follow to bring the
Republic of Moldova closer to Romania and, implicitly, to Europe, said the Moldovan
prime-minister. He also had a meeting with Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis,
who assured him that Moldova can keep counting on Romania’s support.