Romanian-Moldovan Brotherly Relations
Romanias president Traian Basescu on Wednesday paid an official visit to the Republic of Moldova, aimed at consolidating relations with this country.
România Internațional, 18.07.2013, 13:47
Romanian president Traian Basescu’s visit to the Republic of Moldova coincided with the celebration, on July 17th, of 577 years since the first documented mention of Chisinau, which was Romania’s second largest city in the interwar period. Talks between President Basescu and his Moldovan counterpart Nicolae Timofti, Parliament Speaker Igor Corman and Prime Minister Iurie Leanca focused on the brotherly relations between Moldova and Romania across history, the two countries sharing the same language. This has been Basescu’s first visit to Chisinau since the Democrats ousted the communist rule in 2009, which at the time led to renewing Moldova’s efforts towards European integration.
Traian Basescu: “The visit comes at a time of utmost importance for the future of the Republic of Moldova. Moldova is now nearing its greatest achievement in the process started out many years ago, namely to sign the association agreement with the European Union and the free-trade agreement”.
The treaty and agreement will be signed at the forthcoming summit of November in Vilnius, Lithuania. Romania’s president pointed out that Bucharest would continue to “fully support” Moldova in its EU integration efforts while, at the same time, respecting the country’s neutrality option. The Romanian official went on to say that Moldova would not be able to complete accession negotiations unless it came up with a clear-cut solution to the conflict in the breakaway region of Transdniestr. In turn, Moldovan president Nicolae Timofti underscored Romania’s interest in boosting bilateral relations.
Nicolae Timofti: “I have thanked president Basescu for his country’s invaluable support and for his personal involvement in projects of strategic importance to the Republic of Moldova, such as European integration, energy security and solving the frozen conflict in Transdniestr”.
Another important project is the construction of the Iasi-Ungheni cross-border gas pipeline, of three high-voltage transmission lines and two bridges across the Prut River, each making an important contribution to the diversification of energy sources and to bringing Moldova closer to the European Union. Moreover, Romania and Moldova are currently carrying out joint projects in the field of education, which include the awarding of 6000 scholarships in Romania to Moldovan students, donating 1 million Romanian-language books to schools and libraries in Moldova and resuming the broadcasts of Romania’s national television station on Moldovan territory.
