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The World Bank’s Competitiveness Improvement II (Pacts) project will continue several successful components of the first project, such as the co-financing of companies’ implementation of quality management systems, the development of businesses, market studies and marketing strategies, and the financing component of exporting companies.

The components and principles of the CAP II project were drawn up during a meeting on Tuesday between the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Economy, Valeriu Lazăr, and the World Bank team leader for private sector development in Moldova, Melissa Rekas.Negotiations on the new Project to be launched in May this year.

Valeriu Lazăr said that Moldova’s economy would go through profound transformational processes with its accession to the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area with the European Union. Moldovan companies will therefore need multilateral support in business planning, strategy restructuring and internationalisation. Thus, the Ministry of Economy wants to make it easier for companies to access European funds when they become accessible, to continue improving quality infrastructure, especially in terms of exporting agri-food products to the EU market, and to promote the implementation of innovation and technology transfer at company level.

According to Valeriu Lazăr, the Ministry of Economy has developed a strategic vision of these processes, translated into the Roadmap for Improving Competitiveness, the Strategy of Regulatory Reform, the Innovation Strategy of the Republic of Moldova and several other documents, and CAP II would support the implementation of these strategies.

The Minister of Economy stressed the importance of effective regulation for the quality of the business environment, an effective filter in this respect being the Working Group of the State Commission for the Regulation of Entrepreneurship. Valeriu Lazăr requested support from the World Bank for the work of the Working Group, which meets weekly to examine regulatory impact analyses of draft legislation and regulations. “The work of this group is highly valued by the business environment and we insist that the analysis of the impact on the business environment be carried out for all legislative acts, including in the field of taxation and customs, but also for Members’ legislative initiatives”, said the Minister for the Economy.

One aspect of the future project is to assist in the development of risk-based methodologies for carrying out state control over the activity of economic operators.

Valeriu Lazăr also took the view that the World Bank’s technical assistance should be provided on a ‘more for more’ basis, so that the institutions that are most reform-minded and open to business receive more assistance.