Prime Minister Pavel Filip today met with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) team of experts, led by Ben Kelmanson, on a working visit to Moldova from March 15-27. 

The prime minister said that since the last IMF mission, which took place 5 months ago, there have been positive developments on several dimensions. Evidence in this regard is the macroeconomic indices: in the 9 months of 2017, economic growth was 3.8%, exports increased by 18.6%, including the EU by 20.5%.

Also, a new shareholder at Victoriabank and a potential investor in Moldova-Agroindbank was registered.

The investor was also identified for the construction of the Ungheni-Chisinau gas pipeline, which contributes to the country's energy security.

"All these things were not possible if the Republic of Moldova did not have a program with the IMF. The existence of conditionality helped us to move forward with the implementation of the reforms," said Pavel Filip.

The prime minister said that by the end of this parliamentary session the budget law for the next year will be approved.

IMF team chief Ben Kelmanson welcomed the positive developments in the government lately and encouraged authorities to maintain delivery speeds.

The IMF official referred to the main areas to be assessed during this mission. These include fiscal issues, the medium-term budgetary framework, the 2018 budget and the macroeconomic forecasts. 

Prime Minister Pavel Filip expressed gratitude for the IMF's support for the state's economic and financial reforms and confirmed the determination to complete the implementation of the reform agenda despite the fact that the Republic of Moldova is in an electoral year.