The announcement, which came on 22 August, is intended to help end social exclusion and the lack of opportunities felt by Moldovans, particularly those living in rural areas of the eastern European country.

To address these challenges, the government, with the support of the World Bank, aims to modernise its administrative services and provide a more citizen-centric model of service delivery.

“The Modernization of Government Services Project will improve the quality of and access to public services,” said Anna Akhalkatsi, World Bank Country Manager for Moldova. 

“We believe this project will also address governance issues, and will lead to improving people’s trust in public institutions.”

Government agencies and line ministries will receive technical assistance on how to re-engineer services, digitisation, and better alignment of institutional capabilities.

Since Moldova joined the World Bank in 1992, over $1bn has been allocated to more than 60 operations in the country.

Currently, the World Bank portfolio includes nine active projects with a total commitment of $358.5m.