Moldova, Germany to consolidate relations in development of agricultural sciences

Chisinau, 2 October /MOLDPRES/ - The Agriculture and Food Industry Ministry (MAIA) and the Ministry of Food, Rural Affairs and Consumer Protection of the Baden-Württemberg Land (Germany) today signed a Joint Declaration of Intent on Cooperation. The document provides for the deepening of the relations on the segment of development of the agricultural sciences.     

"We understand very well that the scientific institutions subordinated to the Agriculture Ministry must be connected to the similar institutions from the European Union. This to make exchange of experience, gain new knowledge, to keep abreast of the times. This is a quite necessary thing in the context of the climate changes – drought, torrential rains, the impact of which was major on the agriculture of Moldova. Or, more scientifically reasoned measures are undertaken at the level of the European institutions in the sector, which would be very interesting for our country,’’ Deputy Prime Minister, Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Vladimir Bolea said.      

The official highlighted the close relations between Moldova and the German authorities in the agricultural sector. ‘’In 2023, a support platform was established at the EU’s level. We have a greater support in this respect on behalf of the German government, which helps us overcome much quicker and more intensely all stages of pre-accession. These things are beneficial for the agriculture of Moldova,’’ Bolea noted.  

„We have common interests in the agro-industrial sector, which motivate us to deepen the bilateral relations. We have technologies, machines for the field’s modernization and we believe that we can develop the cooperation in agriculture. We want also to bring investments in this sector in Moldova. We think that the people of Moldova expect progress in agriculture, in different regions and the signing of this memorandum is a good example in this respect,’’ the representatives of the German side said at the event.   

The Joint Declaration of Intent signed today was coordinated and established by Deputy PM Vladimir Bolea during a working visit to Germany in last January.  

The government of Germany backs the Agriculture and Food Industry Ministry in the aligning of the sectoral policies with standards and requirements of accession to the European Union. This occurred due to a new Moldovan-German project on technical assistance on Agricultural Policies Dialogue (ADP), launched in Chisinau in February 2024.  

„With the support of Germany’s government, a new Moldovan-German project on technical assistance on Agricultural Policies Dialogue is carried out in Moldova. Within the project, a team of international experts support MAIA, the Agency of Intervention and Payments for Agriculture and the National Food Safety Agency in the aligning of the policies and administrative systems in agriculture, rural development and food safety with the EU’s requirements. It is about a complex programme, which includes more new and sometimes less traditional actions, in order to boost and optimize the native agro-industrial sector,’’ Deputy PM Vladimir Bolea also said.    

The project’s activities are financed by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture from Germany and are implemented by the Berlin Economics and DLG International Consortium.

The overall trade between of Germany with Moldova increased by 5.3 per cent against the 2022 year, according to the Romanian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AHK Romania); the data was taken over by the Destatis Federal Statistics Office of Germany. According to the quoted source, the volume of commerce between the two states exceeded 871.2 million euros. Germany’s exported to Moldova amounted to 547.7 million euros, up by 2 per cent, while the imports stood at 323.5 million euros, increasing by 11.4 per cent. Moldova ranks 95th among Germany’s trade partners.