January 9 (SeeNews) - The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) said that it is providing Moldova with $30 million (28.6 million euro) in direct budgetary support to help tackle the rise in energy prices caused by Russia's war on Ukraine.
The funding, secured through the World Bank Multi-Donor Trust Fund, will assist Moldova in a process of reimbursement for prior verified electricity purchases and is a key element of the $320 million in emergency support that the U.S. has provided to Moldova since February, when the Kremlin launched its invasion of Ukraine, USAID said in a press release last week.
Just as Moldova was emerging from a series of severe shocks - the COVID-19 pandemic, a drought that wracked agricultural production, and the 2021 European gas crisis - the social and economic spillovers from the war in Ukraine placed Moldova’s short-term economic recovery and its long-term economic prospects at risk, USAID noted.
The budgetary support measure will help Moldova manage the challenges of the winter and maintain stability in the country, Moldovan president Maia Sandu commented in a social media post.
In November 2022, the United States outlined plans to provide over $49.5 million in aid to Moldova to help it enhance its energy security and diversify supply sources, the country’s finance ministry said at the time.
($=0.952 euro)