Eugeniu Osmochescu
The minister emphasized that such interpretations are erroneous and taken out of context, and he never talked about importing 300,000 people.
He clarified that his discussions were primarily about the labor market’s ability to absorb labor and the economy’s demand scenarios, while talking about much smaller numbers, on the order of about 100,000 people in separate working estimates.
“I want citizens, first of all, to understand: I have never said that it is necessary to import 300 thousand people for Moldova’s productivity. Never. I was talking only about the maximum possible number that we can include in our calculations – about 100 thousand. Moreover, I will give another figure: the annual capacity of the Migration and Asylum Bureau is about 16 thousand temporary residence permits in Moldova,” Osmochescu said.
He specified that the permit for a labor migrant is issued temporarily, for one year, but can be extended.
“This is a regulated migration. Such a person does not come with his family to Moldova. He is obliged to leave the territory of the country upon expiry of the residence permit,” the official added.
The deputy prime minister called for correct coverage of public statements.
The minister also explained that the productivity can be understood in a broad sense, as a combination of time, costs and qualifications of the employees involved in the production process. According to him, productivity growth means getting more output at lower costs, which ultimately contributes to economic growth. It was in this context, he noted, that the discussion of this issue was conducted.
As Logos Press has already written, according to the General Inspectorate for Migration, currently more than 4.6 thousand foreign citizens in Moldova have valid work permits. Most of them are men from Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Turkey and Uzbekistan. The main concentration of foreign workers is observed in Chisinau, Balti, Cahul, as well as in the districts of Riscani and Leova. Over the last three years, the number of applications for work permits has increased by about one thousand annually.
