
The French Development Agency will provide Moldova with a loan of 40 million euros to strengthen the forestry sector and a grant of 1.2 million euros to implement the Forestry Reform Program.
This will be stipulated by a relevant loan agreement with the French Development Agency and a trilateral memorandum of agreement between the Moldovan Environment Ministry, the Deposit and Consignments Fund Forest Society and the French Development Agency, the launch of negotiations on which and their subsequent signing was approved by the Moldovan government at a meeting on Wednesday. According to the Environment Ministry, a memorandum of agreement between the Moldovan government, represented by the Finance Ministry and the Environment Ministry, and the French Development Agency was signed on October 17, 2023, within the Moldova Support Platform meeting held in Chisinau, in order to strengthen the forestry sector in Moldova. The memorandum provides for the allocation of 40 million euros in two tranches of 20 million euros each for 2024-2025 to implement the Forestry Reform Program. The memorandum also envisages a grant of 1.2 million euros from the French Development Agency as technical assistance to support the implementation of the program, which will contribute to the achievement of the set goals. According to the Moldovan Environment Ministry, in order to ensure the implementation of the mentioned Memorandum of Understanding, the signing of a credit line agreement between Moldova and the French Development Agency for 40 million euros is scheduled for March 7-8 in Paris, while on March 12 in Chisinau it is expected to sign a trilateral Memorandum of Understanding between the Moldovan Environment Ministry, the Deposit and Consignment Fund and the French Development Agency on the allocation of a grant of 1.2 million euros to support the implementation of the program. The Tripartite Memorandum of Agreement will be the formal basis for the coordination and implementation of the Credit Line Agreement. The allocated credit and grant funds are meant to finance the needs of the Moldovan state budget for the implementation of reforms in the forestry sector. The Environment Ministry recalled that the Forestry Reform Program includes 6 general measures to reform policies in the forestry sector, including: adoption of the new Forest Code; institutional reform in the forestry sector; promotion of biodiversity, carbon sequestration and adaptation to climate change; promotion of sustainable forest-based economic development; implementation of the National Afforestation Program for 2023-2032; strengthening national capacities for sustainable forest management. // 06.03.2024 - InfoMarket