“It is a remarkable result of the efforts made by the country and the Government,” said the U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, referring to the granting of the EU candidate status to the Republic of Moldova. In a meeting he had with Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița, the official said the United States will continue supporting the reforms needed to bring the Republic of Moldova closer to the European community, IPN reports.

In the discussions with Premier Natalia Gavrilița in Washington, Anthony Blinken said the transformations initiated by the Moldovan Government are regarded with great optimism by the U.S., which will support all the reforms started by the government in Chisinau, according to the Government’s press service. “We see a Government with a powerful agenda aimed at strengthening democracy, fighting corruption and ensuring energy security – all the areas that the United States fully support,” said the U.S. official, being quoted in the press release.

For her part, Natalia Gavrilița spoke about the reforms launched in the justice sector, to fight corruption and to strengthen the state institutions and also about the assistance needed to implement reforms in strategic sectors. According to the Premier, the ensuring of the citizens’ wellbeing and the supporting of the vulnerable sections are among the government’s priorities. “We work to continue the process of modernizing the country and to implement the European agenda of the Republic of Moldova following the decision to offer the EU candidate status to our country. We now bear even greater responsibility towards our citizens who aspire to form part of an area of peace and stability, of the family of the EU member states,” stated the official.

While in Washington, Natalia Gavrilița also had a discussion with USAID Administrator Samantha Power during which the interlocutors considered the possibility of initiating new projects in the fields of education, agriculture, tourism, the mass media, where USAID can financially support development projects.

In the meeting, Samantha Power said the United States, implicitly the institution she manages, will stand by the citizens of the Republic of Moldova, while the encouragement to strengthen participatory democracy and to ensure sustainable economic growth will remain high on the list of projects implemented in Moldova.

The meeting of Natalia Gavrilița and Samantha Power is the second held the past half a year.