Meeting of GUAM heads of government held in Moldovan capital

Chisinau, 5 October /MOLDPRES/ - Moldova, which in 2018 holds the chairmanship of the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development (GUAM), today hosted a meeting of the GUAM member states’ heads of government. At the summit, the prime ministers of Moldova, Georgia, Ukraine and the deputy PM of Azerbaijan reconfirmed their commitment to strengthen efforts in overcoming economic, social and political challenges and in ensuring the security and stability in the region, the government’s communication and protocol department has reported.  

Moldova’s prime minister noted that the organization GUAM represented an efficient platform of regional cooperation and a useful mechanism in the settlement of problems faced by the member countries. “I am firmly sure that the cooperation process within GUAM will have a positive impact on our efforts to achieve the joint goals for the consolidation of democracy, development of the economy and trade between the member states,” the Moldovan PM said.  

Pavel Filip reiterated the importance to strengthen efforts to settle the frozen conflicts in the GUAM area, with the observance of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Organization’s member states. To this end, a draft resolution on frozen conflicts in the GUAM area and their impact on peace, security and development is to be promoted at the United Nations General Assembly. In the context, Pavel Filip thanked the GUAM countries for backing the resolution on the withdrawal of the foreign military forces from the territory of Moldova. “This was a gesture of solidarity, which could be showed only by the friends of Moldova. The approval of this resolution is an extra proof that only by joining our efforts, including through cooperation within GUAM, we can make our voice be heard internationally,” the Moldovan prime minister stressed.       

Among the achievements of the cooperation within the Organization, the participants highlighted the development of the international transport in the perimeter of GUAM’s corridor, as well as the development of the GUAM transport corridor. The participants also referred to possibilities of removing the roaming tariffs between the Organization’s member countries. They also stressed the importance to finish and enforce the Free Trade Area in the GUAM space.    

The firm determination to continue the cooperation within GUAM was reiterated by the signing of a joint declaration of the meeting and a cooperation protocol in the customs sector. The protocol signed provides for boosting the exchange of information on goods carried by air, in order to more efficiently combat customs frauds.