Foreign affairs minister, officials of UK Foreign Office discuss issues of Moldovan – British relations

Chisinau, 19 October /MOLDPRES/ – Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Tudor Ulianovschi, and Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Commonwealth of London, Martin Harris, have discussed the progress achieved within the bilateral dialogue of Moldova and Great Britain, ways to boost it in various areas, including regional security, countering cyber attacks, good governance, and facilitating travel in the UK, the MAEIE’s public diplomacy, strategic communication and media interaction service has reported.

The interlocutors exchanged views upon current state of bilateral relations, noting that the visit of the head of Moldovan diplomacy to London in June 2018 was an important step in their deepening and their synchronisation with the new circumstances, which are supposed to form after Brexit, discussed aspects of political dialogue and commercial – economic relations between Moldova and UK of GB&NI. According to Martin Harris, Moldovan – British relations constitute an efficient partnership of cooperation on all dimensions, and in this context there were expressed thanks to Moldova for the solidarity it showed in the case of the chemical agent attack in Salisbury in March 2018.

Referring to the recent geopolitical and security developments in the world and region, Tudor Ulianovschi and Martin Harris reiterated the positions of Moldova and UK on condemning such acts, threatening international security and a serious violation of international law. Also, it was highlighted the hybrid character of the threats facing societies of both states and imperative need to cooperate bilaterally, regionally and internationally to counteract them. In this respect, Tudor Ulianovschi welcomed the appointment of a British military attaché in Moldova.

Speaking about future relationship of Britain with EU, Martin Harris affirmed the support given by the London authorities to the European integration process, stating that UK does not want to view Moldova "in a way other than that of European integration". In the context, the British official stressed the importance of democratic and economic development of Moldova and strengthening of defence capabilities, reiterating the willingness of UK to offer all assistance to Moldova throughout the Good Governance Fund (GGF).

The two officials also addressed the challenges faced by citizens of Moldova in obtaining travel visas in UK. In the context of info published in mass media on the re-adhesion of UK to the international agreement on public procurement and reluctant position of Moldova on it, Minister Tudor Ulianovschi reiterated the interest of Moldova to simplify the access of Moldovan citizens and economic operators to the public procurement market in UK, the visa process being a major impediment to it. Director Martin Harris assured the Chisinau authorities of the availability of the British Ministry of Domestic Affairs to examine the issues faced by citizens of Moldova in the process of obtaining visas as to identify solutions that would improve the existing procedures.