Moldovan deputy premier meets Romanian diplomat

Chisinau, Dec. 20 /MOLDPRES/- At the end of 2022, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Nicu Popescu ends the series of meetings with his counterparts by hosting in Chisinau Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania Bogdan Aurescu, the MAEIE press service has reported.

"It was an extremely difficult year for our region, for Ukraine, but also for the Republic of Moldova, but together with Romania we continue to manage the consequences of this war.

Together with Romania and the member countries of the European Union, the Republic of Moldova marked a historic success in 2022 - we became a candidate state for EU accession.

Together we managed to organize for the first time the joint session of the legislatures, to host in Chisinau the joint session of our governments. On our way to join the EU, the Republic of Moldova has two ambassadors in each capital - those of the Republic of Moldova and those of Romania. The unprecedented interaction of our diplomacy, together with the joint effort of heads of state Maia Sandu and Klaus Iohannis, of our governments and legislatures, allowed us to strengthen the strategic partnership for European integration and strengthen our community of language, history and culture.

I note that thanks to these joint efforts, our relationship with Romania is the closest and strongest in the last three decades. Every community and family knows about Romania's concrete support, regardless of the language spoken or political and geopolitical preferences," said the Moldovan official.

MAEIE states that these projects have a direct impact on improving the quality of life of citizens and the list is long.

Starting with student scholarships that have opened up new opportunities and trained hundreds of thousands of professionals, some of whom are fully employed in the public and private sector of our country, grants and direct budget support over 1100 kindergartens repaired, over 200 school minibuses donated for the benefit of pupils from schools taught in Romanian, Ukrainian, Gagauz, Russian or Bulgarian to be able to benefit from good transport conditions, diesel for farmers, vaccine during the pandemic, humanitarian aid from the first days of the war to manage the refugee crisis, support for the modernization of villages and the twinning of towns, the elimination of roaming charges, the support of culture, the last success being the registration of the high-necked shirt in the intangible heritage of UNESCO, the construction of the gas pipeline, bridges that connect us as well as those that we plan to build.

Another essential aid consisted of electricity, natural gas, including their storage in Romania, fuel oil, fuels, firewood, at a time when our citizens clearly see that the Russian missile bombardment brings darkness, cold and despair to the homes of Ukrainians and in the region.

The Moldovan official discussed with his counterpart how the brutal war of the Russian Federation in Ukraine caused major changes in our country, affecting the security of the Republic of Moldova.

"We are united in condemning this war. We are united in our common desire and effort to preserve peace in the Republic of Moldova. We are united in protecting our citizens from the adverse effects of this war. United in our common work to bring our country into the European Union. I want to recall with appreciation the statements of Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, who said "Romania is the closest to the Republic of Moldova and we do not abandon you regardless of the scenario in which we will all end up through this unfortunate war carried out by Russia against Ukraine", said Popescu.

The Republic of Moldova participated in the NATO ministerial in Bucharest. This international event was a diplomatic success for Romania, Romanian diplomacy and Minister Bogdan Aurescu. Both bilaterally with Romania and in our interaction with the EU, or other partner countries such as the USA or Great Britain, the Republic of Moldova is determined to strengthen its defense and security sector.

“With all the hybrid challenges we face, we need all the solidarity of our friends in the West to defend our democracy and our freedom. We appreciate the role of Romania which, together with Germany and France, co-founded the Moldova Support Platform within which our development partners from all over the free and democratic world offer us targeted support. At the Conferences in Berlin, Bucharest and Paris, we obtained important commitments not only in the short term, but also in the long term in order to maintain stability, social cohesion, strengthen democracy and advance reforms and our European path. We will host the next Platform conference in Chisinau", he said.

Romania is also our main commercial partner and destination No1 for our exporters – being the market that covers almost 1/3 of exports. By late 2022 the figure of 3.5 billion US dollars was reached in bilateral trade, increasing compared to last year.

Popescu spoke with Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu about ways to support this trend and diversify our bilateral trade.

Work is also underway to open the pontoon bridge and the border crossing point Leova - Bumbăta as quickly as possible. At the same time, the officials discussed the progress on the initiation of the construction of the Ungheni - Ungheni road bridge, the Balti - Suceava electric line and the Vulcănești - Chisinau line.

The cooperation of the Republic of Moldova – Romania – Ukraine is another example of the active diplomacy achieved through a trilateral meeting in Odesa of the ministers of foreign affairs and energy, where the firm support of the Republic of Moldova for Ukraine was reconfirmed and where cooperation in the energy sector was addressed and European integration, but also the intention to organize new 3+3 meetings.

I would also like to emphasize the personal dedication of Minister Bogdan Aurescu for the Republic of Moldova, our European path and the European transformation of the country", the Moldovan official pointed out.

The training course for diplomats and civil servants trained in the promotion of EU accession objectives, organized through the Romanian Diplomatic Institute, was a very concrete support also on the MAEIE line. Next year, with the help of Romania, this program will continue.

"We are grateful to Romania and every Romanian for all the support in the way of reforms and strengthening resilience in our irreversible path to joining the European Union, alongside Romania", concluded Popescu.

Photo: MAEIE