Republica Moldova

NEW BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES FOR MOLDOVAN PRIVATE SECTOR

UNDP has announced new business potentials for Moldovan enterprises in the Black Sea Economic Cooperation region.

October 2, 2007, Chisinau- The announcement was made today at the official presentation of the Black Sea Trade and Investment Promotion Programme which aims to support economic growth and development in the Black Sea sub-region through closer economic integration and to expand intra-regional trade and investment links among Black Sea Economic Cooperation Member States.

At the official presentation of the Black Sea Trade and Investment Promotion Programme (BSTIP) for the Moldovan Business Support Organizations, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has announced the findings of a recent study, which is carried out within the framework of the BSTIP. The study, which comprises a comprehensive trade flow analysis in order to identify priority products and services having an intra-regional investment and trade potential in Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), indicates that the total trade balance potential for Moldovan enterprises in the BSEC region is estimated around USD$ 1billion.

The programme is expected to  promote regional economic development, develop trade and investment linkages between BSEC Member States with positive impact on the reduction of poverty. Increased trade and investment links will be generated with the private sector of the region and new partnerships will be developed with business support organizations. The beneficiaries of the programme will be small and medium enterprises, and special emphasis will be given to enterprises managed by young and women entrepreneurs. The programme will be implemented in cooperation with local chambers of commerce and business support organizations.

National business support organizations in each of the BSEC country will be assigned the role of national focal point for the implementation of activities of the BSTIP. Indeed, the success of the Programme will depend critically on the active involvement of the business community in all BSEC Member States. At the same time, the BSTIP will provide opportunity to create capacity within the business support institutions of the sub region to take advantage of the sub-regional trade and investment expansion opportunities on a permanent and sustainable basis.

The Black Sea Trade and Investment Promotion Programme is co-financed by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Greek Ministry of Economy and Finance, UNDP and BSEC. It is the first programme jointly co-financed by the Governments of Turkey and Greece under the auspices of UNDP and is also the first partnership project between UNDP and BSEC.

UNDP and BSEC has strengthened their partnership with the signature of an Agreement of Cooperation between Mr Kemal Dervis, UNDP Administrator and Ambssador Leonidas Chrysanthopoulos, BSEC Secretary General, on June 28, 2007, at BSEC Headquarters in Istanbul. The signing of this Agreement will contribute to a more enabling environment for UNDP and BSEC, in partnership with other partners, to further pursue the promotion and implementation of regional projects as a means for regional cooperation and development.

The Black Sea Economic Cooperation was established to create a unified regional economic regime in June 1992. The Organization has 12 member states today including Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.

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For more information pls contact  Aurelia Braguta, aurelia.braguta@undp.org  Tel: +373 22 220045

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN’s global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life.