Moldova Invest in dialogue with Gheorghe HAJDER, President of the Chisinau Development Agency

The Regional Development Agency (ADR) is a non-commercial public institution with fi nancial autonomy, subordinate to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development of the Republic of Moldova, established in the spring of 2023

ADR Chisinau began its activity in 2023, following the implementation of the provisions of the Law on Regional Development in the Republic of Moldova. Recently, the focus at ADR Chisinau has been on identifying needs and development directions for the elaboration of the Regional Development Operational Program, aiming to improve living conditions and access to quality public services for citizens.

Gheorghe HAJDER, the director of ADR Chisinau, stated that regarding the Republic of Moldova’s accession to the European Union, ADR Chisinau aligns itself by implementing regional development projects in accordance with European norms and standards, aimed at reducing development gaps and promoting sustainable socio-economic development, a subject discussed within our dialogue.

What is your main area of activity?

Alongside colleagues from the Chisinau Regional Development Agency and together with local public authorities in the region, our primary focus every day is on coordinating eff orts to contribute to the sustainable and equitable development of the Municipality of Chisinau.

Currently, we are in a comprehensive process of identifying and mapping out the most pressing needs for the elaboration of the Regional Development Operational Program, namely the future development directions that will be supported through the Regional Development Agency by attracting external fi nancing, establishing partnerships, and disseminating project portfolios to potential investors, with the aim of improving living conditions and access to quality public services for citizens.

“A common partnership has already been established through collaboration with the Center for Analysis and Regional Development Planning (C.A.P.D.R.) Iasi, ADR Chisinau, through which we will be able to assimilate and implement successful projects“

The primary aim of the Agency is to ensure the regional implementation of regional development policy and its objectives set at the national level. The Agency is involved in strengthening the efforts of local public authorities in the balanced and consolidated development of individual localities and the development region as a whole.

The Chisinau Development Region is a specific region with a diff erent administrative-territorial structure; as the capital city, Chisinau has a major influence on adjacent localities, thus infl uencing the structure of regional economic activities.

Moreover, the development objectives of the Chisinau Development Region differ from those of other existing regions, focusing on increasing cross-border competitiveness. Our intentions are to transform the Chisinau Development Region into a cross-border development hub and attract direct investments into the country’s economy. This region concentrates the majority of both human resources and economic activities that can become sources for major investments in various industries.

How does the institution you represent align with the main country objective assumed by the Republic of Moldova, namely accession to the European Union?

The regional development projects implemented by the Chisinau Regional Development Agency aim to reduce development disparities within the region, while also ensuring its sustainable socio-economic development based on European norms and standards.

The specificity of our activity is oriented towards implementing regional development policies, which are part of the European Union’s cohesion policies; therefore, our interventions are guided by European Union values.

Consequently, we are involved not only in implementing investment projects but also in identifying new partnerships between national actors and partners from the European Union, with Romania being our closest partner on our European journey. With Romania, twinnings between various localities are organized, ensuring the transfer of knowledge, best practices, and European values.

Have you managed to develop a working strategy for the Chisinau Regional Development Agency for the 2021-2027 financial exercise?

Given that the Chisinau Regional Development Agency was established in the spring of 2023, we are currently in the process of analyzing and examining development needs and opportunities. Therefore, in order to create a working strategy, we need to understand the development disparities among the localities in the suburbs of Chisinau city, to ensure their access to services and public utilities that would contribute to improving the standard of living. For the city of Chisinau, we aim to identify areas with added value that will generate job creation and increase the economic attractiveness of the region.

We understand that without a separate and macro-oriented approach, Chisinau city will continue to be a mere capital of a peripheral country, whereas our objectives are entirely diff erent, especially considering that there are fi nancial resources directed towards achieving these objectives.

At the same time, we hope that the localities in the Chisinau Development Region will soon have the opportunity to participate in calls for the selection of regional development projects so that within a period of 3-5 years, we will have a clearly identifi ed portfolio of approved investment projects and the necessary investment amount.

How do you assess the possibility of using the expertise of the RDAs from Romania to strengthen the path of ADR Chisinau?

Considering that ADR Chisinau is a newly established institution, we not only evaluate the possibility of cooperation with similar institutions in Romania, but also rely on the support of RDAs and aim to capitalize on all opportunities to adopt best practices and accumulate experience in writing and attracting EU-funded projects.

We believe that through cooperation with agencies in Romania, we will be able to expedite certain stages of development, adopting best practices while remaining vigilant in the process of project development and fi nancing.

In our daily activities, we closely collaborate with regional agencies from other development regions, many of which have emphasized the support provided by Romanian partners, especially ADR Northeast and ADR Northwest.

However, we also consider collaboration with the similar institution from the Bucharest-Ilfov Development Region imperative. This institution is also involved in the development activities of the region, which includes the capital city of Bucharest. Therefore, both positive and negative experiences will be benefi cial to us and will help us progress.

Moreover, a common partnership has already been established through collaboration with the Center for Analysis and Regional Development Planning (C.A.P.D.R.) Iasi, ADR Chisinau, through which we will be able to assimilate and implement successful projects. The CADPR partner’s experience in understanding socio-economic realities and engaging key actors in various European projects will enhance the institutional capacity of ADR Chisinau to attract European funds and implement projects, with ADR Chisinau relying on a partnership and joint eff ort to achieve common results.

Thus, in partnership with the Center for Analysis and Regional Development Planning (C.A.P.D.R.) Iasi, ADR Chisinau has applied for the project “Best practices and knowledge transfer to strengthen administrative capacity in regional development policy between Romania and the Republic of Moldova” (REG RO-MD), which is open for application by the BRCT Iasi, Interreg VI-A Next Romania-Republic of Moldova.

The Interreg Europe 2021-2027 Program represents an initiative of interregional cooperation co-financed by the European Union, aiming to support local, regional, and national governments across Europe in developing and implementing more effi cient policies. It promotes the creation of an environment and opportunities for sharing solutions to regional development issues, while facilitating the exchange of best practices and the policy learning process.

What is the status of ADR Chisinau in relation to your line ministry, namely the Ministry of Development?

The Regional Development Agency is a non-commercial public institution with fi nancial autonomy, subordinate to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development of the Republic of Moldova. As a socioeconomic development engine in the Development Region of the Republic of Moldova, ADR develops and promotes sectoral strategies and programs, attracts resources, and implements investment projects. It provides support and consultancy to stimulate sustainable economic growth, partnerships, and entrepreneurial spirit.