Dacian Ciolos on his first formal visit to Chisinau as head of government
Romania's technocratic Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos pays his first formal visit to Chisinau.
Valentin Țigău, 26.08.2016, 13:56
Romania supports the continuation of the reform process in the
Republic of Moldova and the peaceful settlement of the conflict in
Transdniester. This is part of the statement made by Romanian PM Dacian Ciolos,
at the end of Thursday’s visit to Chisinau. Ciolos underlined that, beyond the
moral support granted by Romania to the citizens of the Republic of Moldova, a
country with a predominantly Romanian speaking population, Bucharest disbursed
a first 60 million Euro installment of a loan spaced out on four and a half
years, with a preferential interest rate of 1.45%.
Dacian Ciolos:
What we expect and what we support is the continuation of the
reform process. In this line of thought we include this loan agreement, with a
first tranche being already disbursed to the Government of the Republic of
Moldova. We have granted and will further grant support to the Moldovan
government, considering that this cabinet has committed itself to implementing
certain reforms and hopefully this will happen.
The first installment can be used to finance public development projects, to rehabilitate roads and unblock public
procurement. Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos also underlined in Chisinau the
importance of boosting Romanian investment in the Republic of Moldova. Romania
is Moldova’s main trading partner, and the continuation of reforms will
encourage Romanian investors, the Prime Minister went on to say, giving the
example of Transgaz and Translectrica companies. In turn, Prime Minister Pavel
Filip reiterated Moldova’s wish to embrace not only the European values and
principles, but also to join the energy networks, in an effort to eliminate old
vulnerabilities. He stated that the two
sides had agreed to step up cooperation in the energy field.
Pavel Filip:
We will advance with the process of achieving the interconnection
of the power grids, but we will also develop the interconnection of the gas
network. In this case, I am referring to the expansion of the Ungheni-Chisinau
gas pipe-line.
On the occasion of the Romanian Prime Minister’s visit to Chisinau,
a standpoint was formulated on Romania’s role in the new regional context, in
the wake of Crimea’s annexation by Russia. Dacian Ciolos:
Romania is a NATO and EU member, a
politically and economically stable country, which wants to assume the role of
contributor to maintaining stability and security in the region. At the latest
NATO Summit in Warsaw, we called for the support of other NATO allies, for an
increased presence in the region, to deter anyone who would like to fuel and
maintain conflicts in the region. We have encouraged the resumption of dialogue
in the 5 plus 2 formula, in order to find pragmatic solutions to the
Transdniester conflict, through dialogue. We also want to use the role we can
play within the EU, in order to mobilize other European partners into supporting this
approach in the Republic of Moldova.
In brief, the visit by Prime Minister Ciolos to
Chisinau brought again into the focus of attention the major issues on the bilateral agenda, given the ties between the two countries, which are based not only on shared language and history, but also on pragmatism.
