OREANDA-NEWS. August 16, 2011. Moldova is much better prepared to cope with an eventual economic crisis than in 2009. Yet, it is not fully immune to external shocks, local and foreign experts have said.

The situation in the public finance field is better than the one recorded in 2009, when the government was unable to fund its commitments. At present, Moldova's public finance sector is much better prepared to overcome an eventual crisis wave, the International Monetary Fund's Resident Representative to Moldova, Tokhir Mirzoev, said.

Moldova's currency reserves are much higher, hitting historical records. Moreover, the monetary strategy adopted by the National Bank of Moldova in late 2009 carries a new and efficient approach to the crisis' management, he added. Furthermore, a string of crisis management mechanisms have been worked out, among which the inter-ministerial committee for strategic planning, which is presently elaborating a crisis management plan, Tokhir Mirzoev noted.

Regardless of the global economy's development trend, there are some obvious conclusions Moldova needs to draw. First of all, it should further press ahead with the external risks by diversifying the sales markets. Secondly, we should think how to further reduce the dependency on foreign assistance, Exepert Grup chief executive Valeriu Prohnitchi said. He added that in the future the foreign financial assistance should be left "only for those sectors, projects and initiatives that have an obvious intensifying impact on the economy, while the public finances should be carefully managed".

According to economist Alex Oprunenco, external shocks might occur if the crisis worsens, following a tumble in the remittances from abroad, exports and foreign financial aid. The government should elaborate several scenarios of the economy's development in case of an economic downturn, with eventual steps that would have to be undertaken.
 
The Moldovan economy is very small and very open. Thus, when the foreign economic ties are properly developing, the economy also sees a significant improvement, a senior economist for the United Nations Development Programme's Regional Bureau for Europe and CIS, Ben Slay, said.