Strategic planning projects for Moldova’s modernization discussed at government

Chisinau, 07 July /MOLDPRES/ – Prime Minister Pavel Filip chaired the meeting of the Inter-ministerial Committee for Strategic Planning (CIPS) today, a platform that ensures the correlation of foreign assistance programs with the strategic priorities of the Government, the government’s communication and protocol department has reported. 

At the meeting, it was presented the annual report on foreign assistance to the Republic of Moldova in 2016, during which the development partners of Moldova reported disbursements of about €440 million in the form of official assistance for development. These figures show an increase of about 33 per cent compared to 2015. The biggest development partners of Moldova remain the European Union, the World Bank, Romania, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the UN agencies.

In the context, the Premier said that the strategic priorities of the public authorities had to be related primarily to the capacity of the institutions and the efficiency of the external assistance projects. "We are going to carry out an inventory of all the projects that have been and are going to be implemented, a system and capacity analysis, better strategic planning and accountability of program implementers," said Pavel Filip.

At the meeting, there were also discussed the priority economic development measures 2017-2019, aimed at increasing the number of jobs in companies from all regions of the Republic of Moldova. Among the most important measures are the continuation of the implementation of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area between Moldova and the European Union, the completion of the institutional and legal framework, the fight against bureaucracy and protection of consumers.

The CIPS members approved the project proposal for the Financing Agreement between the Republic of Moldova and the International Development Association and the Loan Agreement between the Republic of Moldova and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development in order to achieve the project "Modernizing Government Services", for a total of $22,43 million today. The project provides for a multidimensional approach to modernizing public service efforts and aims at optimizing operational processes for delivering public services.

Another topic discussed at the meeting was the project proposal on "Climate Change Adaptation". The CIPS members decided to restructure that project, focusing on strengthening preparedness and response to climate disasters.

The CIPS platform also discussed the possibility of extending the implementation deadline of the EIB-funded Restructuring Program, which is expected to be realized in 2017-2019. In this context, the CIPS members submitted certain terms that would make it possible to leverage external assistance in the form of a loan.

Another project proposal analyzed at the meeting concerned the "Development of Emergency Mobile Service, Reanimation and Downloading Service (SMURD) in the Republic of Moldova". Its purpose is to create and strengthen the integrated medical and emergency healthcare system. Following discussions, the CIPS approved the negotiation of that project, with subsequent presentation of the results.

Also today, the CIPS members approved the Consultancy Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Moldova, represented by the Ministry of Economy and International Financial Corporation, which provides consulting services on three major areas: improving the business environment, strengthening market access with an emphasis on the agro-industrial sector and increasing the level of protection of investments.