OREANDA-NEWS. October 29, 2014. At the opening ceremony EIB Vice President Wilhelm Molterer said Moldova’s government had showed the commitment to European values and the direction the country was moving towards was beyond doubt. According to Wilhelm Molterer, as a European banking institution, EIB supports this policy and the story of success Moldova’s authorities have demonstrated recently has become one of the reasons for the Bank to come to a decision to open an office in Moldova.

The European Investment Bank is willing to continue and develop its activities in Moldova, supporting projects in such areas as infrastructure, energy, water supply and water treatment, water management, agriculture and others, which are, generally, consistent with Moldova’s government’s top priorities, the EIB Vice President said. According to Moldova’s Premier Iurie Leanca, opening an EIB office is of great importance for Moldova in the light of its European agenda. He thanked the Bank for support given to Moldova for modernization of its public institutions, enhancement of the infrastructure, development of the public and private sector, etc.

“Moldova enjoys the highest EIB lending volume per capita among the Eastern Partnership countries. And I am proud of Moldova becoming the second country in the world to be opened an EIB office in”. According to Iurie Leanca, this will substantially facilitate the communications with the head office and will ensure better visibility of the EIB’s activity here in Moldova. As he noted, EIB investment projects alone led to the opening of about 2,000 jobs in Moldova. The European Investment Bank is one of Moldova's largest lenders, investing in Moldova's road infrastructure, wine-and-wine and agricultural sectors, public transportation in the capital, water supply, SME-sector and many other areas.

The recent investment project EIB has launched in Moldova, called “The Fruit Garden of Moldova”, has supported the small and medium-sized enterprises active in the horticultural sector with EUR 120 million. The project aims to back the establishment and renewal of orchards in Moldova, purchase of modern equipment for growing, storing, grading, packing and transporting fruit, enhancement of energy efficiency, diversification of fruit markets of Moldova, etc. As of July 2014, 9 projects have been implemented in Moldova with the support of EIB amounting to a total of EUR 383.8 million, Moldova’s Office of State informs.