OREANDA-NEWS. February 18, 2014. The 2013 year was marked by one of the biggest economic growths in the region for Moldova. Moldova’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 8 per in the first nine months of 2013, against the same period of 2012, said Economics Minister, Deputy Prime Minister Valeriu Lazar at a press conference today.

The conference was focused on the Economics Ministry’s activity report for 2013 and priorities for 2014.

The deputy prime minister noted that practically all economic activities registered increases. Moreover, the residents’ income and employment rates increased, and the number of unemployed dropped. In the first nine months of 2013, the industrial production grew by 6.6 per cent against the same last year, and exports increased twice, as compared to imports - by 11.3 per cent and 4.9 per cent respectively.

Valeriu Lazar stressed that "an undeniable success in 2013 is the signing of the European Union – Moldova Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) and completing the negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Turkey, with both processes coordinated by the Economics Ministry. This has prioritised the need to identify a string of sound policies, aimed at preparing the national economy to benefit from opportunities set by entering a market of about 600 million consumers, situated on two continents", said the deputy prime minister.

Thus, according to Valeriu Lazar, in order to harvest the benefits of the DCFTA and FTA with Turkey, as well as to increase trade with traditional partners in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and diversify the export markets, the Economics Ministry has developed a Roadmap for improving Moldova’s competitiveness. In total, the Economics Ministry drafted about 170 decision acts, of which 10 strategic planning documents, 27 drafts laws and 71 draft cabinet decisions in 2013.

The Economics Ministry’s major concern in 2013 was the implementation of structural reforms, aimed at creating favourable conditions for the business environment. The targeted approach of the areas helping create a friendly, stable and predictable business environment contributed to the advancement of Moldova within international rankings. Thus, Moldova went up 5 positions in the Doing Business 2014 top, ranking 78th out of the total 189 countries, said Valeriu Lazar.

Among the priorities for 2014, the deputy prime minister named: the implementation of the Roadmap for enhancing competitiveness and innovation strategy, accelerating the regulatory reform, expanding support programs for small and medium enterprises, and for the industrial parks network, and attracting new investments in the fields in need of advanced technologies with high value added, providing jobs with competitive wages. Increasing the energy efficiency of the national economy, finalising the construction of the Ungheni-Iasi pipeline etc. are also part of the ministry’s 2014 priorities.

The economics minister announced the forecast for the main macroeconomic indicators for 2014-2017. It is estimated that the 2014-2017 GDP will increase by an average annual rate of about 4.5 per cent, with structural improvements. Thus, the following components will increase within the GDP structure: the industry- from 14.1 per cent in 2014 to 14.5 per cent in 2017, constructions - from 3.5 per cent to 3.7 per cent and domestic trade - from 13.5 per cent to 14 per cent. Exports will increase by about 8.5 per cent annually, and imports - by about 7.2 per cent annually. The overall average nominal salary on the economy will grow by about 31.5 per cent and reach 5,525 lei in 2017, and the labour productivity will increase by about 4.4 per cent annually.