Strengthening the Romania – Moldova partnership
As pro-Western Maia Sandu gets sworn in as president of the R. of Moldova, relations with neighbouring Romania get warmer
Bogdan Matei, 30.12.2020, 14:00
Within a week since Maia Sandu was sworn in as the new president of the Republic of Moldova, her Romanian counterpart Klaus Iohannis travelled to Chişinău. He was the first foreign high-ranking official received by Maia Sandu, since the latter won the November 15 election, thwarting the pro-Russian Igor Dodons hopes for a new term in office.
As Romanias Presidency had predicted, the visit occasioned a strong support message for the new president and for Moldovas citizens, in their efforts to strengthen democracy, to implement the rule of law irreversibly and to consolidate both the countrys European accession endeavour and its privileged relations with Romania.
President Iohannis announced that Bucharest will send the neighbouring state 200,000 anti-Covid-19 shots, 6,000 tones of diesel gas for farmers and at least 250,000 euro to support civil society and the mass media.
Klaus Iohannis: “I am glad that this visit to Chişinău comes against the background of a massive vote, by Moldovan citizens, in favour of democratic reforms in line with the EU integration values.
For Maia Sandu, the visit of her Romanian counterpart means the end of the international isolation in which the previous pro-Russian governments had kept the country:
Maia Sandu: “Im happy that as of today, the Republic of Moldova and Romania return to a natural, brotherly and open interaction. These days, the Republic of Moldova steps into a new era of ending its international isolation and connecting to the European space.
The 2 presidents signed a joint statement on strengthening the Strategic Partnership between the Republic of Moldova and Romania, reconfirming their special bilateral relation, and Chişinăus commitment to its European accession programme.
An economist with an MA in public administration at Harvard, former adviser to the World Bank executive director, former minister and PM of Moldova, Maia Sandu, 48, is the first woman president of the R. of Moldova, 3 decades after the country proclaimed its independence from Moscow.
All analysts agree that the presidents task will be infinitely more difficult than the election in which she defeated Dodon. Maia Sandu is the leader of Europes poorest state, as relevant surveys indicate. She has taken over an administration riddled by corruption and filled with the former presidents cronies, and will have to work with an outgoing Socialist Cabinet and with a parliament controlled by leftists.
The new presidents most important allies are her countrys citizens, the European Union and, as always, Romania. (tr. A.M. Popescu)
