Foreign Minister met Italian counterpart in Rome

Chisinau, 15 Sep. /MOLDPRES/- The head of Moldovan diplomacy, Nicu Popescu, met with his Italian counterpart, Antonio Tajani in Rome. They discussed a wide range of issues, the MAEIE press service has reported.

The officials discussed Moldova's European path and our significant progress in implementing the nine recommendations of the European Commission. Our objective is to obtain the positive recommendation regarding the opening of accession negotiations, and we rely on Italy's support in this regard.

Popescu welcomed and expressed his gratitude for the two resolutions adopted by the Committee for Foreign and Community Affairs of the Italian Parliament, which express support for the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the EU.

The visit was an opportunity to bring the cooperation between our countries to a new level, by signing the Joint Declaration on strengthening the Moldovan-Italian strategic partnership. The document will contribute to the strengthening of bilateral relations in areas of mutual interest and will ensure closer collaboration on a European and multilateral level.

The diplomats also discussed the fourth edition of Moldova Support Platform, due in Chisinau this October. This tool has helped us overcome the crises of 2022. Now, we will focus on the sustainable development goals and we hope that Italy will continue to support us.

"Another topic of the discussions concerned economic cooperation. Italy ranks fifth among the main investors of the Republic of Moldova, but we want to attract even more Italian investments, especially in the renewable energy. We are interested in opening new air routes between our countries, in the context in which we have a large diaspora in Italy.

Finally, we discussed security issues. We want to be a factor of stability in the region, and our participation in peacekeeping operations in both Europe, the Middle East and Africa are an expression of this commitment. We advocated for increasing our participation in peacekeeping missions", he said.

Photo: MAEIE