The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that it is giving Moldova access to $27 million (25.3 million euros) in order to help the nation deal with the effects of the conflict in Ukraine and the rising cost of food and energy internationally, See News reports.
The 40-month Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and Extended Fund Facility (EEF) Arrangements for Moldova were the subject of the decision, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive board announced in a news statement on Monday.
With the additional funds, the expanded program’s overall payouts will have reached nearly $275 million. The IMF claims that Moldova is still suffering from the effects of the war in Ukraine and that disruptions in the country’s electricity supply have made matters worse.
The persistent effects of Russia’s conflict with Ukraine and the weakening outlook of Moldova’s key trading partners are expected to cause the country’s GDP to decrease by 1.5% in 2022, followed by a minor rebound of 1.5% in 2023.
Further aggravation of the war in Ukraine is one of several risks to the outlook that is significant and strongly weighted to the downside.
The IMF highlighted that despite the challenging environment, Moldova’s program execution is still solid, with key program commitments in the areas of fiscal and financial governance and sector-wide reforms of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) having been fulfilled.
After being asked by the government to reassess its financing agreement so that it takes into account the changing economic environment, the IMF agreed to increase funds for Moldova by $267 million in April.
