The expansion of development cooperation with the Government of Slovakia was discussed today during a meeting between Secretary of State Carolina Novac and a delegation from the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovakia, who are in Chișinău to evaluate the implementation of projects supported by SlovakAid.

The parties reviewed the impact of the energy crisis and the support measures for energy-vulnerable populations, ongoing projects, and potential areas for expanding cooperation.

Among the projects discussed was the tallest residential building in the municipality of Bălți, which underwent energy efficiency improvements as part of a project implemented by the Expert-Grup analytical center with financial support from the Governments of the Netherlands and Slovakia. The main goal of the project is to demonstrate the benefits of thermal insulation of buildings, resulting in lower energy bills, greater comfort, and even increased property value. The project tested three new governance elements and a financial mechanism for energy efficiency upgrades in residential buildings, which could be adopted by the National Center for Sustainable Energy.

During the meeting, the progress of the Residential Energy Efficiency Fund was also presented, along with the available financing products for households and plans for their expansion. Thus, the FEERM has a budget of over one billion lei to be invested in improving the energy efficiency of residential blocks, and over 90 million lei to be allocated as additional support through the Energy Vulnerability Reduction Fund. In the coming years, more than 370,000 square meters of heated apartment space and 130,000 m² in individual homes are expected to be upgraded for energy efficiency.

Additionally, the progress of a project aimed at improving the thermal efficiency of two public buildings was reviewed, for which SlovakAid allocated funding of 100,000 euros.