Fifth edition of Ministerial Conference of Moldova Partnership Platform starts in Chisinau

Chisinau, 17 September /MOLDPRES/ - The fifth edition of the Ministerial Conference of the Moldova Partnership Platform has started in Chisinau. Sixty five delegations are present at the event. In the beginning of the Conference, President Maia Sandu, Prime Minister Dorin Recean, Foreign Affairs Minister Mihai Popsoi and the foreign affairs ministers of Romania, Germany and France gave speeches.     

The Romanian diplomacy head, Luminita Odobescu, reaffirmed Romania’s support for Moldova’s European integration way and reviewed the projects implemented on the last period, among which also the ones on interconnection. 

„It is a pleasure for me to be now here with you, in order to celebrate the turning of the Moldova Partnership Platform into an instrument which provides the Moldovan authorities with assistance needed, in order to promote the reforms and for the European integration process. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has been continuing for more than two years and a half. We have seen, day after, the barbarianism of the Russian attacks. We saw the crimes and we saw how the Ukrainian nation suffers. Starting the first minutes of this brutal aggression war, Moldova has been on the right side of the history and provided every possible support to Ukraine and to the Ukrainians who fled the war. At the same time, we know that Moldova was significantly hit by the war. Moreover, it faced complex dangers on behalf of Russia. The assistance for Moldova had an essential role in helping the country cope with these complex challenges. Moldova now is in a much stronger position under all aspects and we should highlight the contribution of President Maia Sandu and the government. Dear colleagues, we now must continue the work and support Moldova, which initiated a programme of ambitious reforms sand started a historical travel to the European integration. In the last year, we have seen impressive results and this progress must continue. We must help Moldova. We must prepare the country for the integration into EU; improve the business environment, in order to be able to attract attractive investments which, for their part, will create jobs. These are the new tasks for us; we must help Moldova’s government succeed in all these sectors, as they deserve succeeding due to their determination, strong political will and the commitment taken. This will be our success as well, as a stable democratic Moldova will ensure the stability in the whole region. My country, Romania, is shoulder to shoulder with Moldova at this critical intersection and we will cooperate in order to extend the connectivity in the energy and infrastructure sectors. Also, direct contributions are made for the country’s integration into the European Union’s single market. Since the first meeting, we have had a grant programme of 100 million euros, made available to Moldova’s authorities, in order to finance projects in education and regional development.  The consolidation of the capacities stays our principal commitment.  We also provided a complex programme of technical assistance, within which we should provide direct assistance to Moldova’s government in the process of negotiation and accession. Romania will stay firmly committed to cooperate with all partners under the umbrella of the Moldova Partnership Platform. This format has proved its value and relevance from the viewpoint of the strategic guidance, coordination and mobilization of resources, as well as the ensuring of the political, financial and technical support,’’ Luminita Odobescu said.             

The German diplomacy head, Annalena Baerbock, also gave a speech on the firm support for the process of Moldova’s integration into EU. He emphasized Moldova’s courage in the management of the flow of refugees, noting that Moldova was an impressive example.     

„Citizens of Moldova, let me start by saying you a single word – incredible, you are incredible and you have managed to undertake a lot of actions in those over two years since Russia’s invasion in Ukraine. I remember also now the volunteers whom I saw at the border, who were giving food products, tea, coffee to people who were coming from Ukraine. Moldova opened its doors, schools, hospitals to the neighbours from Ukraine. Moldova is a small country with a great heart, which hosted more than 1.5 million refugees from Ukraine. Your country conveyed a strong message to the entire Europe, which has been quite significant so far. More than 150,000 refugees from Ukraine remained in Moldova, which accounts for five per cent of Moldova’s population. This invasion of Russia affected not only the Ukrainians; it hit Moldova too. It also targeted us, as Europeans and Moldova, which at that time was receiving 100 per cent of the gas from Russia, had inflation of about 30 per cent. Moldova overcame well those obstacles, due to the efforts of its leadership, due to the citizens, who united together and reacted together. You were guided by a single principle, not to complain, but to take this attitude. This reaction, this attitude impressed me, as well as the others who are here today. You proved that we can manage more, if we are together. Starting the first day of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, we have provided the democratic support, in order to avoid the collapse of Moldova. We at that time launched the Moldova Support Platform in Berlin, along with our colleagues from France and Romania and now we adapted this platform as being a partnership one.  A forum of partnership with a country which has a future in the European Union. In 2023, the negotiations on Moldova’s on Moldova’s accession to EU were launched; this was a historical, unexpected step and exactly opposite to what Russia wants. Moldova did not give in, becoming a country candidate for EU and you, Mrs. President, the citizens of Moldova proved that you are very strong.  We are here to support the freedom of Moldova, the freedom of Ukraine. We are with you, for the citizens of Moldova are able to decide their own way, to decide their own future. A European future in peace, with prosperity, with democracy,’’ the German official said.                    

Foreign Affairs Minister of France Stéphane Séjourné also came with message of support of Moldova’s European integration path. ‘‘The today’s event is one of historical importance and we support Moldova’s authorities in the European integration process. We are with you and we come up with support for the reforms underway. These reforms and efforts must be continued; they will help Moldova align with the EU standards. Now, we should come up with actions which will stimulate the economy and the resilience of the country; we should see which are the pressing needs faced by the authorities. The assistance of France will continue further on,’’ the French diplomacy head said.      

The fifth edition of the Ministerial Conference of the Moldova Partnership Platform is held Chisinau today. Attending the event are 65 delegations, led by ministers, deputy ministers and state secretaries of the partner countries, of the diplomatic corps and international organizations.  

The first edition of the Moldova Support Platform took place in Berlin on 5 April 2022. The second one was held in Bucharest on 15 July 2022. The third edition of the Conference took place in Paris on 21 November 2022 and the next edition was held in Chisinau on 17 October 2023.