The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is sending a new mission to Chișinău at a time when the Republic of Moldova is facing pressure on public finances, high borrowing costs, and challenges related to economic growth. The institution’s experts will discuss recent economic developments and policy priorities with the authorities, after the previous financing programme ended in October 2025 without the completion of its final two reviews.
According to an announcement made on Monday, October 19, by Svetlana Cerović, the IMF’s Resident Representative in the Republic of Moldova, the mission will take place from October 21 to 28, 2026, and will be led by Alina Iancu.
“An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team of experts, led by Alina Iancu, will visit Chișinău from October 21 to 28, 2026,” the institution’s representative said.
According to Cerović, the IMF delegation will meet with representatives of the Moldovan authorities and other relevant stakeholders to assess recent economic developments and discuss the Government’s economic policy priorities.
The visit comes at an important moment in the Republic of Moldova’s relationship with the international financial institution. The IMF-supported financing programmes under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and Extended Fund Facility (EFF), as well as the Resilience and Sustainability Facility programme, expired in October 2025.
In a report published on March 5, 2026, the IMF found that the previous programmes had helped maintain macroeconomic stability during a period marked by energy crises and the consequences of the war in Ukraine. However, the institution warned that progress in fiscal policy, public administration, and combating high-level corruption had been insufficient.
As a result, the final two reviews under the ECF/EFF programmes were not completed. The IMF also noted that several reforms committed to under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility programme remained outstanding.
In the same report, the Fund’s experts said that the Moldovan authorities had requested a new non-financing agreement to support the implementation of reforms and the country’s EU accession process. Such an arrangement would involve monitoring and assessing economic policies without automatically providing new loans.
For now, the IMF has not announced whether the October 21–28 mission will include negotiations on a new agreement or whether discussions will be limited to analysing the economic situation and the authorities’ priorities.
The latest comprehensive assessment of the Moldovan economy, conducted as part of the consultations under Article IV, projected economic growth of 2.3% for 2026, following forecast growth of 2.7% in 2025. The IMF warned that the economy remained vulnerable to external shocks, while low competitiveness and continued emigration were limiting development prospects.
Another concern raised by the institution was the external imbalance. In its assessments, the IMF estimated Moldova’s current account deficit at 19.6% of GDP for 2025, driven by high imports and modest export performance.
Significant financial obligations to the IMF
According to the institution’s official data, as of September 30, 2026, Moldova’s outstanding IMF credit amounted to 691.13 million Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), equivalent to approximately $938 million.