OREANDA-NEWS. February 09, 2011. It is read in the press release of the UK Embassy in Moldova. According to it, the British Government’s Department for International Development (DFID) remit is to work with the world’s poorest countries. Moldova does not fit this category any more, having reached Middle-Income Country status in January 2009 with most of the Millennium Development Goals either met or on track.

On the basis of these indicators DFID made the decision to close its bilateral programme in Moldova in March 2011. DFID started work in the Republic of Moldova in 1994. According to the press release, although DFID activities are ending, this is by no means the end of the UK's involvement or support. In the coming years, the UK will continue to support Moldova’s development and progress with EU integration through the British Embassy in Chisinau and funding will continue to come through the EU and other multilateral agencies – some 15% of the money the EU spends in Moldova is from the UK.

Over seventeen years DFID has supported the implementation of Moldova’s strategic priorities, as set in country’s national development documents, in such areas as the public administration reform; public finance management; social protection; regional and business development; social statistics; peace building and conflict resolution.At the time of graduation DFID leaves behind some tangible results which will benefit the citizens of the country: an improved mechanism of national strategic planning and implementation, which will ensure that public financial resources are allocated to key development priorities; an institutional framework for balanced bottom-up regional development.

This includes additional resources to the national Fund for Regional Development to implement 14 projects addressing business development, infrastructure, water and sanitation that will benefit around 100,000 people; a new system of the social assistance cash benefits targeted to the poorest population, which currently supports over 50,000 families and additional funding for cold weather compensations due to increased energy costs for more than 250,000 people; a better environment for the rural business development, which resulted in creation between 2002 and 2006 of 1,300 businesses and over 6,000 jobs in rural areas; 72 objects of rehabilitated social infrastructure and 25 community centres and social services in villages.