2023-03-21
On Tuesday, during the National Forum of Financial Education in Moldova, Gediminas Šimkus, Chairman of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania, and Octavian Armașu, Governor of the National Bank of Moldova, signed an updated Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), whereby agreeing on an even closer partnership between the banks. The participants of the bilateral meeting discussed the economic situation and the situation in the financial sector in Lithuania and Moldova, the impact of russia’s war against Ukraine, fintech development and other relevant issues.
“The Memorandum of Understanding with the National Bank of Moldova is a continuation of cooperation that has been ongoing for more than six years. The Memorandum will cover new and existing ways of cooperation, bringing together the knowledge, experience and contacts of both like-minded institutions,” said Šimkus at the signing ceremony.
Both the Bank of Lithuania and the National Bank of Moldova have specific expertise which, when combined, is expected to create more value for society. The updated MoU commits the banks to work closely on financial stability, payments, EU and international cooperation, central bank governance and communication, as well as other important topics.
Last year, employees of the National Bank of Moldova visited the Bank of Lithuania and exchanged experiences on financial sector development, central bank data digitisation and data management strategies.
During the National Forum of Financial Education in Moldova, the Bank of Lithuania also presented its experience in developing financial literacy topics and the activities of the Centre for Financial Literacy, which was established last year.
“The World Economic Forum classifies financial literacy as one of the basic literacy skills, such as reading or writing. We share the same view and have included financial literacy of the population as one of the strategic objectives of the Bank of Lithuania. We see financial education as a channel for creating value for society, which is our mission,” said Šimkus.
Moldova has applied for EU membership and has been granted candidate status. Moldova is successfully implementing the reform programme of the International Monetary Fund. The National Bank of Moldova is currently implementing the EU Twinning project, which brings the central bank closer to single market standards and helps to implement the financial sector-related provisions of the EU-Moldova Association Agreement. The Bank of Lithuania is the junior partner in this Twinning project. The project is implemented jointly with the central banks of Romania and the Netherlands.