Nicolae Ciucă, in Chisinau: In Romania, there is political support at all levels for accelerating Moldova's EU integration process
From education, infrastructure, security, but also on the road to EU accession, Romania has shown that it shows its support for the Republic of Moldova and its citizens. The statements were made by Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean after a meeting with his Romanian counterpart Nicolae Ciucă. For his part, the Bucharest official noted that Romania would continue to support the development of human capital in the Republic of Moldova.
"Thanks to the support and help from Romania, the European Union and the Member States, we managed to get through the winter. I would like to reassure citizens that we are not alone, we are part of a family of friends on whom we can always count. Romania is our advocate in all European institutions, so we can move forward on our European path despite the security challenges generated by Russia's brutal war against Ukraine. We manage to coordinate quickly and efficiently with Bucharest on issues of mutual interest in the spirit of solidarity and special relationship where we share the past, manage the present and build the future", said Prime Minister Dorin Recean.
Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă noted that there was political support at all levels in Romania for accelerating the process of Moldova's integration into the European Union "(...) through concrete assistance in the form of non-reimbursable financial assistance, through the provision of electricity, through allocations of fuel oil and other energy products, through the exploitation of the Iasi-Ungheni-Chisinau gas pipeline, through the transfer of experience and of course through the transfer of any other forms of support as we agreed today. We also see the same sincere approach from the Republic of Moldova towards strengthening natural, deep relations between Bucharest and Chisinau", Nicolae Ciucă added.
During the meeting, the heads of the Romanian and Moldovan Cabinets of Ministers also agreed on joint actions for the implementation of the National Programme for the next three years on the learning of the Romanian language by ethnic minorities in the Republic of Moldova, including the adult population.
"Romania will continue to support the development of the human capital of the Republic of Moldova by providing scholarships in Romanian universities for all study programmes and at all educational levels and we agreed at today's meeting to identify those areas and sectors with potential and opportunities on both sides so that there we can ensure funding and focus to ensure that those sectors really develop through bilateral contribution," said the Prime Minister from Bucharest.
Dorin Recean and Nicolae Ciucă also talked about expanding economic relations, increasing trade.
"We are identifying more opportunities for investment, trade, and development of joint projects. The sectors targeted are energy, information technologies, telecommunications, financial-banking services, integration of capital markets, tourism", said Nicolae Ciucă.
"Trade will be facilitated by the expansion of the interconnection infrastructure. We are determined to develop the bridge infrastructure across the Prut. We will improve cross-border interconnectivity. In May, we are launching traffic on the Leova-Bumbăta pontoon bridge", noted Dorin Recean.
At the same time, the official from Chisinau also spoke about the projects supported by Romania through which "the living conditions of Moldovan citizens are becoming better." These include scholarships for pupils and students, SMURD services, modernisation of hundreds of kindergartens, donations of school minibuses, renovation of buildings of our cultural heritage, provision of energy resources, ensuring access to natural gas deposits and unprecedented openness to ensure prosperity as well as national security.
On 1 March, Prime Minister Dorin Recean visited Romania, with the Romanian authorities reaffirming their strong support for the Republic of Moldova.
