News

The meeting of the Monitoring Committee of the pilot programme for attracting remittances to the economy “PARE 1 + 1” for the years 2010-2012, chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for the Economy, Valeriu Lazăr, was held on Friday at the Ministry of the Economy, with the participation of representatives of the central public authorities and other competent institutions.

The meeting presented the results of the pilot programme for the discharge of remittances in the economy “PARE 1 + 1” for the period from 2010 to December 2012. Thus, during that period, cumulatively more than 4500 consultations were granted, 18 management, marketing, accounting training courses, etc. were carried out involving 336 migrant workers, and 100 monitoring visits were carried out. To date, ODIMM – the institution responsible for implementing the Programme – has concluded cumulatively 124 grant contracts with entrepreneurs from all over the territory of the Republic, which plan to carry out investments totalling more than RON 76.2 million, in industry, agriculture, construction, services, etc., with the amount of grants accepted by the Supervisory Committee amounting to RON 22.57 million. Thus, a leu invested by the State attracts private investment of more than RON 3.

The ODIMM report states that sources from the ‘PARE 1 + 1’ programme benefited Moldovan migrant workers, who worked in 29 states, mostly in Italy – 49 %; Russia – 10 %; United Kingdom, United States and Portugal – 5 %. At the same time, 40 % of those participating are former migrant workers who have returned and intend to start/develop a business; 25 % have children leaving the country; 22 % have their parents abroad and 13 % plan to invest the financial resources earned abroad by their spouses. The age of participants in ‘PARE 1 + 1’ is between 20 and 81 years, 30 % of whom are over 50 years old and the share of women is around 30 %.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs has proposed to the Government to extend the implementation period of the ‘PARE 1 + 1’ programme until 2015, which will continue to be financially supported by the European Union under the Policy matrix for the sectoral support programme ‘Economic stimulation in rural areas’, and as a result, the budget law for 2013 provides for the granting of record financial means under this chapter, amounting to RON 32 million.

At the moment, the Ministry of Economy and ODIMM are in the process of identifying additional sources for the capitalisation of the Programme, for which purpose negotiations have also been conducted with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

Note: The pilot programme for the discharge of remittances in the economy – ‘PARE 1 + 1’ for the years 2010-2012 was approved by Government Decision No 972 of 18.10.2010 and aims to inform and train migrant workers in the entrepreneurial field, contributing to the reintegration into society of Moldovan citizens who had to go to work abroad, by mobilising the human and financial resources of Moldovan migrant workers in the sustainable economic development of the Republic of Moldova and stimulating the establishment and development of small and medium-sized enterprises.