NATO Liaison Office to be set up in Chisinau

Chisinau, 30 November /MOLDPRES/- On a visit to Brussels, Prime Minister Pavel Filip had a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. They signed an agreement on setting up a NATO Liaison Office in Chisinau, the government’s communication and media relations department has reported.

“I believe that the opening of this office will contribute to using the cooperation potential with Alliance by implementing the existing initiatives, communication about NATO programmes, as well as new projects carried out with the Alliance support,” Filip said.

The premier reiterated the country’s interest in strengthening the political dialogue and practical cooperation with the Alliance in terms of partnership for peace and based on Moldova’s constitutional neutrality principle. “This cooperation’s goals are seen in the provisions of the individual action plan of the partnership, IPAP, that our country has been implementing it since 2006,” he said.

Filip appreciated the support the Moldovan institutions had benefited from NATO. “I would like to remark the recent launch of three important projects for Moldova within the Science for Peace and Security Programme. Completion of the project on destroying a consignment of pesticides and dangerous chemicals in Moldova is another priority on the bilateral agenda, which fulfillment will bring tangible benefits to citizens’ health and environment,” he said.

For his part, Jens Stoltenberg said that the NATO Liaison Office was civil and not military, and the Alliance observed Moldova’s neutral status, territorial integrity and sovereignty.

“We are focused on cooperation with Moldova. Stability and prosperity of Moldova is important for NATO too,” the official said. He noted that the office in Chisinau could be inaugurated in spring 2017.

(Editor L. Alcază)