The Republic of Moldova, on the agenda of the priorities of the Swedish presidency in the EU Council
The Republic of Moldova will be a priority during the mandate held by Sweden in the presidency of the Council of the European Union. The assurances were given by Johan Forssell, the minister of international cooperation for development and foreign trade, at the meeting with Nicu Popescu, the minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration.
"We appreciated the message of the Swedish minister who pointed out that during Sweden's presidency of the EU Council, our country will be a priority for the assistance programs of the Stockholm authorities, in order to effectively implement the reforms requested by the citizens", Nicu Popescu wrote on his Facebook page. The two officials spoke about the priority areas that will define Moldova's dialogue with Sweden in the next year: increasing bilateral trade, taking over good practices related to the transition to the green economy, developing initiatives to use renewable energy.
In order to deepen cooperation relations, the head of diplomacy from Chisinau proposed the organisation of a forum of business people.
"In order to boost commercial-economic exchanges and attract Swedish investments in the national economy, we proposed organising a forum of businessmen and further diversifying the Moldovan wines sold in the state alcohol monopoly Systembolaget in Sweden," said Popescu.
Nicu Popescu and Johan Forssell exchanged views on the impact of Russia's war against Ukraine on the socio-economic stability of the Republic of Moldova, especially in the energy sector. The Moldovan official thanked the Swedish authorities for the international support in the economic recovery of the Republic of Moldova.
The Kingdom of Sweden is among the most important development partners of the Republic of Moldova, with projects implemented by the Swedish Agency for Development and International Cooperation. The
The Swedish government has supported the Republic of Moldova in its national development and reform agenda for the past twenty years. The recently adopted strategy for Sweden's reform cooperation with Eastern Europe for 2021–2027 outlines the areas in which Sweden will help countries in the region to create closer links with the EU through reforms.
Sweden will take over the presidency of the EU Council on 1 January 2023.
