The Republic of Moldova is to receive 150 million euros as part of a reimbursable loan granted by Romania.
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.
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