The external assistance as a share of Moldova’s GDP remains under the level of 10% and tends to decline. However, the financial sustainability of Moldova continues to depend on external assistance, the Government’s deputy secretary general Valentin Guznac said when presenting the report on the external financial assistance provided to Moldova in 2015. The report was examined by the parliamentary commission on foreign policy and European integration in a meeting on July 5, IPN reports.

Valentin Guznac stated that the external assistance is an important source for implementing infrastructure projects and an opportunity for strengthening the governmental institutions. “2015 was a difficult year for the country in terms of external assistance. The partners reported that they disbursed €331 million. The value of disbursements in 2015 decreased by 26% on 2014, while for the governmental sector by 38%. In 2005-2015, the value of international assistance rose from €112 million to over €300 million,” said the official.

The reduction in international assistance in 2015 was due to the suspension in disbursements from the external partners owing to the political crisis faced by the country. The volume of grants increased by 8% on 2014.

The EU and the U.S. remain the largest and most important partners by the volume of disbursements, followed by the World Bank, USAID, the European Investment Bank and Romania. The six partners account for over 83% of the provided assistance. The other 16% represents the assistance offered by other partners such as the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Austria, and Turkey. The largest donations went to such sectors as transport and logistics, agriculture, forestry and fishing, the public sector, management, governance and justice.

In autumn, the authorities plan to stage a series of consultations with civil society and the development partners so as to identify the areas that will get external assistance the first.