24 August 2021 – The Secretariat of the Economic Council to the Prime Minister met with representatives of the administration of the Balti Free Economic Zone. Marin Ciobanu, the administrator of the FEZ presented several opportunities to attract foreign investment in the industrial and R&D sector. Solutions are being explored to facilitate the creation of an industrial R&D platform. Several foreign investors would be interested in bringing and attracting engineers to launch such activities in Moldova. Such investments would have a knock-on effect in developing human capital in engineering and increasing the attractiveness of the Moldovan economy.

In addition, opportunities for modernization and digitalization of the activities of small suppliers in Moldova were discussed, to connect them with large foreign investors who require more components and services in production, which are currently imported. In this regard, IT solutions and implementation support should be developed, together with quality management systems, in Moldovan enterprises. The proposed initiatives would allow the creation of more highly qualified jobs and increase domestic production with high added value.

The Secretariat of the Economic Council explained the economic development activities it manages and expressed interest in identifying opportunities for collaboration with the Balti FEZ in order to increase investment activity and collaboration for the timely implementation of large-scale investment projects in Moldova.

The Secretariat of the Economic Council to the Prime Minister is supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, funded by the UK Government’s Good Governance Fund.