Moldova's economy in 2023 recovered from the consequences of numerous crises caused by Russia's war against Ukraine; economic growth occurred and inflation shrunk to 4.2% - Dorin Recean.
Prime Minister said this while presenting the government's activity report for 2023 at a plenary session in parliament. He said that despite all the difficulties, Moldova's foreign friends continue to support Moldova. The European Union is Moldova's main trade partner, and 2/3 of the Moldovan exports go to the European market. In 2023, Moldova achieved record exports of cherries, table grapes and plums. Exports of services also grew by 12%, especially in telecommunications, information, transportation and construction. "We have significantly reduced the cost of roaming services with the European Union, which are available to any citizen - we can talk in European countries as we talk at home. In all fields - local development, education, social protection, health care, defense, environment, agriculture, culture, energy - we are building and moving forward, despite the fact that we have a war at the border and we still have many problems to solve," Prime Minister said. Dorin Recean said he knows the difficulties people go through and it is to improve the lives of citizens that the government has a very clear plan to improve welfare and joining the EU is a natural step to guarantee peace and prosperity within the country. "We all know how the countries that joined the EU developed and we want the same for Moldova - we have already spent too much time. In Romania, for example, average wages have more than tripled in just 7 years since accession negotiations began. From accession in 2007 to the present day, Romania has received more than 90 billion euros - the equivalent of 16 annual budgets of Moldova - from the EU for economic and social development. This development ensures the EU accession, and this is our goal for Moldova," Prime Minister stated. He said that the modernization of towns and villages is one of the 20 state priorities of the national plan "Building a European Moldova". The "European Village" program was ongoing in 2023 with the launch of the "European Village Express" component with 989 ongoing development projects and investments worth about 1.5 billion lei from the resources of the National Fund for Regional and Local Development. Access to vital services was facilitated, providing water supply to about 80 thousand inhabitants from 78 settlements and sewerage for about 50 thousand inhabitants from 10 settlements. Works on the construction of the Chisinau-Straseni-Calarasi main water pipeline have been launched. Dorin Recean said that over the last 2 years, about 530 km of roads of national, regional and local importance, more than 478 km of water and sewerage networks were built or restored, 57 bridges were built or restored, about 200 schools and kindergartens, 28 culture houses were repaired, almost 300 km of street lighting network were built, more than 2 billion lei were invested in the modernization of hospitals. Prime Minister noted that Moldova's agricultural sector recorded a significant growth in 2023, which was one of the main factors of supporting the national economy. According to him, Moldovan wines are conquering the world, winning prizes at international competitions and are now exported to 75 countries. Exports of table grapes increased by about 47%, while exports of technical grapes for wine production doubled. Milk production increased by 15% while being backed by the government's policy of providing direct subsidies per animal. "Our efforts are also supported by the growing trend of investment in rural areas. Over the last 3 years, the total value of investments in agriculture and rural environment has steadily increased, reaching 6.14 billion lei in 2023, up 8%," Dorin Recean said. He noted that 1.7 billion lei were transferred to the beneficiaries through the Agency for Intervention and Payments in Agriculture for the payment of post-investment subsidies, support to 32 start-up projects, projects contributing to the development of rural settlements, direct payments for livestock breeding. Referring to the finance sector, Prime Minister stressed that in 2023, the government focused its efforts on promoting a stimulating budgetary policy, oriented towards stability and reforms that will contribute to the economic recovery and growth. The budget revenues increased by 11.8%, amounting to 102.3 billion lei. As of October 1, within the Spor pentru Moldova support package, the government managed to increase the salaries of medical and theater workers, as well as to ensure lump-sum payments to the teaching and non-teaching staff, rescuers, policemen and carabineers. At the end of 2023, state-owned enterprises contributed about 87 million lei to the budget, while state joint-stock companies transferred dividends worth over 215 million lei. Tax revenues increased by 16.4% in 2023, which is one of the main sources of budget revenue growth. Revenues from customs operations also increased - by 3.8%. This is due to the simplification of customs clearance procedures for authorized economic agents, electronic declaration of goods and modernization of border customs posts in Sculeni, Leuseni and Giurgiulesti. In the field of infrastructure and transportation, he said, the government is building modern, safe and sustainable infrastructure across the country to support economic growth and the welfare of the population. To achieve this goal, the financial allocation in the Road Fund was increased by 28% to 2.3 billion lei in 2023 alone. These funds were fully used for the maintenance and modernization of 6,000 km of national roads. Works on 166 km of roads and 4 bridges were completed, and works started on other major sections, such as the national roads Hincesti-Leova-Cahul, Soroca-Arionesti-Otaci. Another 76 km of national roads were rehabilitated and constructed with the support of external partners, for which about 742 million lei were invested. Dorin Recean recalled that on May 9, 2023, Moldova became the first non-EU country to join the European Connectivity Mechanism. The European Commission approved the financing of 3 Moldovan-Romanian cross-border infrastructure development projects - in Ungheni, Leuseni and Giurgiulesti - for 91 million euros. Bridges over the Prut are under construction: in 2023, the Moldovan and Romanian governments ratified agreements on the construction and modernization of 3 bridges: Leuseni-Albita, Sculeni-Sculeni, Cahul-Oancea. Other ambitious projects launched in 2023 are: the construction of Moldova's first highway Ungheni-Chisinau-Odessa, the extension of a 7-kilometer section of the Chisinau ring road to 4 lanes and the rehabilitation of the Leuseni-Chisinau-Dubasari road. Prime Minister said that the modernization of the railway transport in Moldova is a strategic priority. In 2023, the Cabinet agreed and signed agreements with the EBRD and the EIB on the modernization of the railway corridor Valcinet-Ocnita-Balti-Ungheni-Chisinau-Cainari. Also, repair works on the Bender-Causeni-Basarabeasca-Etulia-Giurgiulesti railroad section advanced in 2023. "We also secured joint Moldovan-Ukrainian railway control at Reni to facilitate transit and increase the capacity of border crossing points. In the air transport sector, we achieved the return of the Chisinau International Airport under state administration and the attraction of many air operators to the Moldovan market: Wizz Air, Georgian Wings, Aegean Airlines, AirBaltic, Eurowings, Southwind Airlines, Israir, Azerbaijan Airlines - AZAL, Arkia Airlines, etc., which contributed to the diversification of air transport options available to travelers," Dorin Recean said. He noted important progress in the energy sector. "For the first time in 30 years, we are energy independent, we cannot be blackmailed with the fate of the country by Gazprom and we have the freedom to buy gas at the most appropriate price in the interest of citizens," Prime Minister said. He said that in 2023, Moldova has made significant progress in the renewable energy sector, which is confirmed by a significant increase in the electricity production capacities. The total capacity of renewable energy sources reached 348.55 MW at the end of 2023, which is almost twice as much as in 2022.Photovoltaic installations made the main contribution to this capacity (about 55%), increasing about 3.2 times compared to the previous year and ensuring significant savings in electricity bills for end consumers. "We are successfully implementing the Energy Efficiency project for state institutions, which is estimated to bring annual savings of almost 100 million lei. Another successful program is the Rabla pentru Electrocasnice ("Replacing junk with household appliances") program, launched in November 2023, within which more than 56 thousand households have already received vouchers to buy energy-efficient household appliances at a discount and to receive free LED bulbs," Prime Minister mentioned. He also stressed that despite the restrictions imposed by Gazprom on the supply of natural gas to Moldova, the government, jointly with the energy sector enterprises, managed to ensure a constant and uninterrupted supply of natural gas, electric and thermal energy to the consumers. In his detailed report, Dorin Recean presented achievements in other fields as well. He said that he often communicates with citizens and knows the problems they face: low incomes, lack of well-paid jobs, high prices. "The government is aware of these problems of citizens and we have a well thought out plan to address them. During this period, we have found resources to provide more jobs and higher incomes for citizens and have implemented more than 850 infrastructure projects that improve the quality of life of the country's citizens. The government is building and will continue to build a European Moldova, where all citizens have good living conditions. Building Moldova is not a process of one or two days - this process takes time and is needed by all. We will manage to build a European Moldova from north to south, in the smallest villages and in the biggest cities, only if the whole country puts its shoulder to the wheel. The government fulfills its share of responsibility, the government is building the whole country, but each of us must take part, wherever we are, to do our job well, to work honestly," Prime Minister said. //14.03.2024 - InfoMarket.
