The IMF Board of Directors plans to approve a new $564 million financing program for Moldova at a meeting on December 20.
Prime Minister of Moldova Natalia Gavrilita announced this while answering journalists' questions. Speaking about the commitments that the Moldovan side assumed to the IMF to approve the new financing program, the head of government noted that the text of the Memorandum with the IMF on the new program cannot be published until it is approved by the Fund's Board of Governors at a meeting to be held on December 20. At the same time, she drew attention to the fact that the statements made by the Prime Minister and IMF Resident Representative in Moldova, Rodgers Chawani, after agreeing on a new program at the end of October at the expert level, concerned the main indicators that formed the basis of the new program with the IMF, and the main reforms contained in it. “They envisage, in particular, a budget deficit in 2022 at the level of 6% of GDP in 2022. This budget has already been approved in the parameters agreed with the IMF. Also, the new IMF program is focused on fighting corruption in various sectors, reforming justice, taking measures and reforms in the field of energy security, introducing reforms in the management of state-owned enterprises, and improving tax legislation. We have also assumed commitments on financial and salary policy, maintaining the stability of the pension system,” said Natalia Gavrilita. According to her, the new IMF program contains many provisions related to good governance and maintaining a healthy economic framework in the coming years. In turn, Finance Minister Dumitru Budianschi noted that after the approval at the meeting of the IMF Board of Directors, not only the memorandum, but also the report of the Fund's mission will be published. All information on the memorandum will be presented and the conclusions of the IMF mission will be made public. As InfoMarket reported earlier, the IMF Mission and the Moldovan authorities reached an agreement at the expert level on a $564 million program of economic reforms lasting 40 months, which the IMF will support for 3 years. // 15.12.2021 - InfoMarket
