New concept of Regional Development in Moldova approved

Chisinau, 30 March /MOLDPRES/ - A new concept of Regional Development in Moldova, elaborated by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) has been recently approved. The new paradigm was necessary, as the finality of the regional development policy should be aimed at creating pre-conditions for ensuring enough incomes, employing citizens and ensuring living conditions, backing the local initiative, attracting investments, setting up and developing of small- and medium-sized enterprises, improving the infrastructure.   
„In a state in which the need of development is obvious and justified by figures, many people choose to leave the country, hoping for a better living elsewhere. The analysis of economic development factors in Moldova shows a quite alarming conclusion – in the lack of a sustained effort of changing the paradigm of development, the potential of growth for the next ten years is limited to 4.5-5 percent annually, given that the level of development of regions from Moldova, though increasing, is nevertheless still far from the least developed states of the European Union,’’ according to the project’s authors.   
Thus, taking into account the general context of development in the country, the project’s authors proposed to reformulate the general goal of regional development, as follows: ‘’enhancing the competitiveness and sustainable development of each region, adjusting the disparities and improving the citizens’ living standards.’’
The new concept proposes adjusting the definition through law, coordinated with the new general objective. Or the new definition of the regional development policy is set forth as follows: the regional development policy represents the ensemble of instruments and measures the central and local administration authorities are taking in a regional territory in favour of the action of enhancing the competitiveness and sustainable development of each region for improving the citizens’ living standards.     
„In the situation when the entire country has quite great needs, just as the differences of development between the rural and urban areas, as well as between the Chisinau municipality and all the other cities and towns, one cannot speak about a repositioning of the regional development policy through fully abandoning the idea of reducing the disparities; yet, it is nevertheless necessary to favour the speeding up of the development process, where it is possible and there is potential,’’ the concept’s authors said.
The new concept of regional development was worked out with the support of GIZ, through the project, Modernization of Local Public Services in Moldova (MSPL), with the financial support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the government of Sweden. Decision-makers from the Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment Ministry and MSPL experts coordinated the document’s elaboration. The new concept was approved under a last February decision by the National Council for Coordination of Regional Development.