Portuguese partners manifest interest in local projects of Moldova

Chisinau, 20 June /MOLDPRES/ – A Local Action Group (LAG) from Portugal is paying a working visit to Moldova on 17 – 21 June, so as to know the process of implementing programme LEADER within regions of Moldova and its obtained results. The visit takes place within the framework of the Project of transnational cooperation: 3G Cooperation – Geotourism, Geoeducation and Geoconservation.   

The Portuguese delegation has met representatives of the Department of rural development policy and programmes (DPPDR) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment (MADRM) in order to exchange experience in the approach of LEADER.

The Portuguese manager of the ADRIMAG Group, João Carlos Pinho, has said that at national level, Portugal has a 20 – year experience in implementing the LEADER measure, and that he came to Moldova to tell us about effective practices on it, especially about implementation of local projects.

At their turn, the representatives of MADRM have reported on experience of Moldova in the LEADER approach, work of Monitoring and Coordination Committee of the LEADER Programme in Moldova. The Moldovan specialists have pointed out that "Portugal can be a good example, especially in the development of rural tourism, implementation of the LEADER concept and approaches to regional development".

The agenda of the visit of Portuguese partners to Moldova includes a visit to LAG Cismeaua Sudului to analise the regional potential within geotourism and ensure the exchange of practices on creation of geoparks.

The LAGs are a tripartite partnership between authorities, institutions, local businesses and civil society. The purpose of the partnership is to identify together the issues and resources of villages that have decided to cooperate and extend development strategies. Firstly in Moldova, these communities apply the European LEADER/CLLD (local community – led development) method at local level. In 2018, these formations benefited from EU a financial support in the amount of $30,000.