Prime Minister Iurie Leanca and Vice President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Wilhelm Molterer today had a meeting and discussed the cooperation prospects between the financial institution and Moldova. They attended the inauguration of the EIB's office in Chisinau.

Leanca welcomed the opening of the EIB office in Moldova, mentioning the importance of the event for Moldova's European agenda. “It is a strong motivation for the private and public sectors from Moldova to adjust to the European standards, to have support needed to operate in a more favorable atmosphere for business. It is a very concrete support, at the level of access to cheap and long-term financial resources, as well as in terms of the best practices the EIB has, as a component part of EU”, the premier said.

Leanca expressed confidence that the opening of the EIB office in Chisinau would boost and make more efficient the bilateral cooperation, further promoting the projects of strategic importance to Moldova. It is about the development of small and middle enterprises, which will contribute to meeting another important goal – creation of jobs. “By implementing the investment projects together with the EIB, we have already managed to open about 20,000 jobs”, the premier said.

Molterer said that on the basis of the decision to open the bank’s office in Chisinau was the fact that Moldova was the country with a government routed to European integration and with a clear strategy on meeting the goal. “The Moldovan government has a clear set of priorities, and to meet them, investments and real support are needed. At the same time, the government has a practical approach, when speaking about applying projects, and it is also a key element. Thus, the EIB, as a European institution, wants to back this strategy”, he said.

At the same time, Molterer voiced confidence that Moldova had an excellent potential for economic integration into EU, as a result of signing of the Association Agreement and creation of the Free Trade Area with the EU.

Attending the event, Head of the EU Delegation to Chisinau Pirkka Tapiola said that over the past five years, the Moldovan-EU relations had been on the rise, and the fact that the tendency was upward, it represented the main message for the business environment and investors in Moldova’s economy.

Moldova is the largest beneficiary of EIB assistance per capita. Since 2007, the bank has backed the implementation of 13 investment projects in Moldova, amounted to 586 million euros, in such sectors as: transport, road infrastructure, water supply, energy, agriculture and winemaking.