EBRD President visits Moldova on back of record investments

The President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) begins a visit to EU candidate Moldova today. The trip follows a year of record EBRD investment in the country, supporting its efforts to buffer its economy against the shock of Russia’s war on neighbouring Ukraine.

EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso, accompanied by the EBRD’s Managing Director for Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, Matteo Patrone, will meet the Moldovan authorities, business leaders, representatives of international financial organisations and civil society. She is expected to sign a new loan with one of the Bank’s partner banks during her three-day trip.

Moldova has been facing enormous short-term uncertainty because of the ongoing war on Ukraine, coming hard on the heels of the Covid global pandemic. The Bank’s investment and policy activities over the last 18 months have thus focused on helping the country to build resilience against the economic turbulence caused by the war.

By the end of 2022, the EBRD had increased its financing in Moldova to nearly €525 million, five times its average annual investment, or 4 per cent of the country’s GDP. Major investments included a €300 million loan for strategic gas purchases to help Moldova diversify its sources of supply and buy more from European hubs and a €100 million loan to upgrade roads near the Ukrainian border.

In 2023, EBRD infrastructure investments have continued at a high level. The Bank has invested US$30 million in an agreement with electricity distributor Premier Energy to finance investments into the power distribution network, signed an €23 million agreement to finance the rehabilitation of key rail infrastructure as part of the Solidarity Lanes initiative, and lent €25 million for Moldova’s first nationwide solid waste management improvement project. Under its flagship EBRD Green Cities programme, the Bank has also provided €8 million to limit flooding of Chisinau’s River Bic, and transform it into an attractive asset for its residents. 
The EBRD is a leading institutional investor in Moldova and, to date, has invested more than €2 billion in the country through 166 projects. It has provided advisory services to more than 1,000 Moldovan firms to help them improve performance and grow. And it is working closely with the Moldovan authorities on creating a regulatory environment that will encourage more investment in renewable energy, among other areas of policy dialogue.

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Press release

EBRD in Moldova