Moldovan foreign affairs minister says documents meant to strengthen community of language, history, culture with Romania signed in Bucharest

Chisinau, 24 November /MOLDPRES/ - We have the same culture, history and language; therefore, we need more joint projects, in order to near the integration to Romania and the European area. Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Affairs and European Integration Minister Nicu Popescu made statements to this effect at a traditional news conference following the cabinet meeting today.    

According to Popescu, the roadmap on the priority sectors of cooperation, signed in Bucharest on 23 November, represents a document which will ensure the unconditional support of the process of democratic reforms and European integration of Moldova, and is meant to strengthen, through actions and concrete results, our community of language, history and culture.    

„Moldova and Romania will work together for speeding up the carrying out of the things agreed upon in the spirit of the bilateral Strategic Partnership for our country’s European integration, the firm commitment assumed by Romania being one to support Moldova’s European integration. We also discussed the negotiation of a new agreement on non-refundable assistance for Moldova, which is to replace and take over the duties of the bilateral agreement signed in 2010,’’ Popescu said.     

According to the official, the new agreement will give the Moldovan citizens possibility to benefit from diverse development projects, including in such fields as infrastructure, health, education and culture. ‘’We also agreed on the organization of the next joint meeting of the government and the bilateral specialized commissions, which will boost even more the cooperation and additional consolidation of the bilateral dialogue,’’ the Moldovan diplomacy head noted.    

For his part, Education and Research Minister Anatolie Topala referred to the agreement on the mutual recognition of diplomas, certificates and scientific titles between the governments of Moldova and Romania, which was also signed in Bucharest on 23 November.  

„The document establishes the way of recognition of the types of education acts at all education levels, beginning with the general education and ending with the scientific and scientific and didactic titles. At the same time, the agreement will facilitate the academic and professional mobility of both states’ citizens, as well as the recognition of the education documents got in Moldova internationally,’’ Anatolie Topala said.   

According to the education minister, the agreement also establishes regulations for the reciprocal recognition of the education acts got till Moldova’s joint the Bologna Process (June 1999). Thus, the new agreement establishes the recognition and equalizing of the education acts, released after the graduation of general education institution with the duration of education of 10 or 11 years, just as it was till the introduction of the lyceum education of 12 years. The new provisions allow the holders of the education documents to have direct access to the higher education from Romania.      

The aforementioned documents were signed during an official visit to Romanian by President Maia Sandu on 23 November.