“Today it seems incredible that Moldova can develop into a prosperous country in a relatively short period of time. However, Moldova has a great chance to become competitive through its resources: the fertile soil, the advantageous geographical position and the intelligence that must be developed by making solid investments in education and science,” former ICT minister Alexandru Oleinic said in an interview for the publication “Timpul de dimineata”. According to him, competitiveness is the key to success, the condition being the existence of a responsible state that can work out a real development plan for 30-50 years. Alexandru Oleinic said that it is very important to correctly choose the priorities and to be able to achieve the set objectives with tenacity and perspicacity. He considers that the Moldovan political class is not right when it says that Moldova’s integration into the EU or the Eurasian Union is a strategic objective. In reality, neither the EU nor the Eurasian Union are objectives. They can only be a means for achieving the strategic goals. “In the pursuit of means, we, the Moldovans, lost the real objectives that are the prosperity, democracy and a guaranteed future,” he stated. According to the former minister, the food crisis during the next years will be much more serious than the present or the previous crises. With 1.5 million hectares of farmland, most of which represents the best black earth in the world, Moldova can produce 3-4 times more food than it produces. “By the food we may produce, we can obtain European leadership and negotiate everything,” said Oleinic. He also said that for this to happen, we need an extensive national project that would transform Moldova into a regional economic leader in certain areas during only 5-10 years. “We need a national project that would involve everyone as well as major investments in education, science and health, without which nothing can exist in a small country without diverse natural resources. The solution is to distribute the productive property in villages, where there is a remarkable potential,” said Alexandru Oleinic. He stressed the necessity of strengthening Moldova’s middle class that now represents 2-3%, as against over 90% in Germany, France and other developed states. Moreover, the most active Moldovans who should be as stimuli for the national economy are absorbed by the middle classes of the countries where they work. “As they do not have prospects at home, they invest their energy in the development of other countries,” said Alexandru Oleinic.