On March 22, FSEA participated at a business breakfast with Mrs. Armine Khachatryan, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Resident Representative in the Republic of Moldova. The event was organized by European Business Association with the support of USAID and the Swedish Government.
Mrs. Armine Khachatryan presented the current stage of the IMF three-year arrangements under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) with the Republic of Moldova to support the country’s economic and financial reform program. She underlined that the success of program implementation will rely on the action of public authorities. The first 2 years of the program deal with the financial sector and governance issues. For the remaining time, efforts will be oriented towards enhancing reform results through inclusive and sustainable efforts. Among other topics that were touched upon was fiscal sustainability, expenditure management, growth potential, banking sector, and instruments lacking in the central bank authority.
The participants commented that the business sector would like to a see a better and fairer collection of the taxes that are being paid on time, underlining that instead of increasing taxes, their collection should improve. Participants mentioned that the biggest need of a business is financing, which is essential for a sustainable growth. The cost of financing being too high. Mrs. Khachatryan agreed that the loan rates for private sector are above the justified rates.
The event was organised by EBA with the support of Moldova Competitiveness Project, financed by the USAID and Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.