Poland to offer Moldova loan of 20 million euros on preferential terms

Chisinau, April 8 / MOLDPRES /- On a visit to Warsaw, Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița had a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, the government's communication and protocol department has reported.

After the meeting, the two officials held a press conference, during which the Moldovan Prime Minister gave the following speech:

"We had a fruitful bilateral discussion with the Polish delegation, led by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

I would also like to reiterate publicly the appreciation that the Government of the Republic of Moldova has for the initiative to organize this working visit.

The whole world is going through a difficult period.

The pandemic, the economic crisis, rising prices have led to rising social tensions and declining living standards in virtually every country in the world.

In addition to the current global problems, our region is also the site of an unprecedented catastrophe in post-war European history.

Russia's war against Ukraine is taking human lives, destroying fate and stealing the future of generations of Ukrainians.

Moldova, like Poland, is on the brink of war and, like Poland, has been receiving Ukrainian refugees since February 24th.

As of February 24, a total of about 370,000 refugees have entered the Republic of Moldova.

At present, we are home to 100 thousand citizens from Ukraine, of which over 47 thousand are children - given that we have a population of only 2.7 million, this figure represents 4% of the total population of our country.

The Republic of Moldova is with the citizens of Ukraine and has always had open borders for refugees from the neighboring country.

In this effort observed and supported by the international community, the most important role was played by the people of the Republic of Moldova, who on their own initiative provided refugees with accommodation, transport, donations, food and other support, acting in solidarity and understanding the misfortune that befell them. fell on Ukraine, the country with which we have gone through the same tragedies in recent centuries.

The economy of the Republic of Moldova is hit hard by this war, even if in the last decade our foreign trade has reshaped and is dominated by the partners in the European Union.

Ukraine has been and is an extremely important partner for several strategic areas of the country, and Odessa has been and will be the most important port for the Republic of Moldova.

Export and import routes have been reoriented and transport costs have increased exponentially. The government and entrepreneurs deal with emergencies on a daily basis, but the costs of war are extremely high and are felt by citizens.

In this regard, we appreciate the decision of the Polish side to offer us a loan of 20 million euros on preferential terms - we signed an Agreement today in this regard. Also, the Executive Program in the field of culture, education and science for the years 2022-2025 was signed.

Poland's support will help the Government continue its support programs for citizens and businesses.

Our farmers need consistent support because they have lost their export markets and supply chains have been disrupted.

Just last week, we adopted a new package of measures to maintain the viability of these businesses, so as not to jeopardize the supply of the internal market.

And we also believe that we can be a competitive supplier of quality agricultural products and we will work hard in this direction.

Two days ago, in Berlin, I visited the country stand of Moldova at the Fruit Logistics 2022 exhibition, where local fruit producers and exporters met to present the Republic of Moldova and establish new business contacts.

And yesterday, as soon as I landed in Warsaw, I visited the wholesale market for agricultural and food products in Bronișe, where I spoke with Janusz Byliński, the President of the Market, the Undersecretary of State of the Ministry of State Assets, Jan Kanthak, and importers of Moldovan products. on the possibilities of expanding the export of Moldovan products to the Polish market and the EU market.

The Republic of Moldova submitted, on March 3, the application for accession to the European Union, with the understanding that the country is not ready for integration, but is ready, as a candidate country to implement the necessary reforms to accelerate the European path of our country.

Poland has been and is a partner that supports the Republic of Moldova and supports the EU enlargement agenda.

We call on the EU Member States to recognize the European perspective for the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia.

This message will be a strong political support.

We welcome the European Parliament's resolution recommending that the European Commission work on granting candidate status for Ukraine.

I asked my Polish friends to be Moldova's allies in supporting the idea of ​​abolishing quotas for Moldovan exporters in the extraordinary conditions created.

This would allow Moldova to be more resilient to threats, and would not be a problem for the European Union in the context of rising global demand for food and other goods.

We talked to our Polish colleagues about the needs of our country. Major needs include political support for the European perspective, providing crisis management assistance, support for the health system and capacity building in terms of public order, critical infrastructure functionality, management of the financial situation to maintain stability in the country.

We expressed our interest in resuming the regular meetings of the Moldovan-Polish Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation, in which we can address multiple common economic interests, including the protection and promotion of investment and other specific issues, such as reducing roaming charges and other opportunities.

During the meeting, I noticed the fantastic activation of bilateral relations in the last year, during which I had the visit of President Maia Sandu to Warsaw, the visit of President Andrzej Duda to Chisinau, meetings at the level of prime ministers and foreign ministers.

No modern crisis can be resolved unilaterally. The European model of cooperation and development is a guarantor of peace and prosperity.

Moldova looks at this model with admiration and respect and hopes that one day it will be able to bring added value as a full member of the European Union.

We enjoy the support of Poland, a country that understands us, a country that knows how to help us, and a country that is a European model.

Photo: Government