Council of Europe Secretary General to pay official visit to Moldova

Chisinau, 24 May  /MOLDPRES/ – Council of Europe Secretary General (CoE) Thorbjorn Jagland will pay an official visit to Chisinau on 30 – 31 May 2017, at the invitation of the Moldovan Government, the Foreign and European Integration Ministry’s information and media communication service has reported.

The visit aims to develop and strengthen the partnership between Moldova and the Council of Europe (CE), the official launch of the CE Action Plan for Moldova for 2017-2020, as well as the establishment of the future priorities for cooperation with Moldova.

The launch of the Action Plan will open CoE Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland and Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Galbur, followed by a joint press conference.

The visit agenda includes meetings with President Igor Dodon, Speaker Andrian Candu, Moldovan delegation to the CE Parliamentary Assembly, Prime Minister Pavel Filip, Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Galbur, Foreign Minister, Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Gheorghe Balan, Justice Minister Vladimir Cebotari, Interior Minister Alexandru Jizdan, President of the Constitutional Court Tudor Pantiru, as well as representatives of civil society and extra-parliamentary parties. Thorbjorn Jagland will also hold a public lecture at the State University of Moldova (USM) dedicated to challenges and threats to democratic security.

The Council of Europe Action Plan for Moldova 2017-2020 was adopted by the Delegates of the CoE Ministerial Committee on 01 February 2017 and aims to support the implementation of reforms in the priority areas such as the fight against corruption and money laundering, judiciary effectiveness, fight against ill-treatment and impunity, strengthening of press freedom and confidence-building measures between the two banks of the Dniester.