Moldovan cabinet approves draft law on Japanese loan for backing agriculture

Chisinau, 31 July /MOLDPRES/ - The cabinet members, at a today’s meeting, approved the draft law on the ratification of the agreement on loan between the Moldovan government and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the carrying out of the Modernization of the agricultural technology and equipment project, signed in Chisinau in late last June. The draft is to be submitted to parliament for consideration.     

The agreement, compiled by exchange of notes, is aimed at confirming the Japanese government’s openness to provide a preferential loan worth about 18.7 million dollars to Moldova’s government, through JICA. The loan’s repayment period is 40 years; it has an interest rate of 0.1 per vent annually and a grace period of 12 years.  

This money will be used to implement the programme on modernization of agricultural technology and equipment from Moldova.

According to Ambassador of Japan to Moldova Yoshihiro Katayama, agriculture is of major importance for Moldova’s economy and the residents’ well-being. ‘’We have backed Moldova’s agriculture in the last 20 years. We want the agricultural technology purchased through this assistance be used by the country’s farmers as efficiently as possible,’’ Yoshihiro Katayama said.   

In the last year, Japan financed more projects in the culture sector, among which the endowment of the Mihai Eminescu National Theatre and Nicolae Sulac National Palace with audio equipment, as well as the modernization of the audio and video, as well as the exhibition equipment of Moldova’s National Art Museum. Also, presently, possibilities are considered to enforce a new programme on support of farmers, Post-2KR, of continuous extension of Japanese investments, of carrying out new projects in the social sector.