CHISINAU (Reuters) – The Moldovan government expects economic growth to slump to around 0.3% in 2022 from nearly 14% a year earlier because of the war in neighbouring Ukraine, Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita said on Wednesday.
It has already appealed to the International Monetary Fund for help with the extra financial burden of supporting the over 100,000 refugees who have sought safety across the border so far. A further 200,000 refugees from Ukraine have crossed through Moldova.
Speaking at a briefing after a Cabinet meeting, Gavrilita said the government expects economic “stagnation, strongly influenced by developments in neighbouring Ukraine, where war is ongoing.”
She said details of Moldova’s revised IMF programme would be agreed soon, adding that the government has also asked the World Bank and European Union to boost funding in response to the crisis.
(Reporting by Alexander Tanas; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
