The outgoing Socialist Party leader Igor Dodon, who quit his MP seat earlier today, says he will move on to become the head of an NGO called “the Moldo-Russian Business Union” in order to foster economic relations between Moldova and Russia. While he intends to also step down as the party’s president, with a governing board to take over, Igor Dodon says he will remain a core member and help pave the Socialists’ comeback to power.
“I intend to strengthen economic relations with the Russian Federation anew, a relationship completely abandoned by the current government, at least at this point in time. Because of a deadlock in the dialogue with Moscow, we all can see what we have. All the past achievements and benefits of the bilateral relations with the Russian Federation have been virtually shattered. There has been a failure to extend trade preferences for Moldovan exporters, which brought tens of millions of dollars annually to our domestic producers. There is no clear policy of government support for Moldovans in Russia, there is no desire to cooperate with the Russian Federation in the fight against the pandemic, and the supply of Russian anti-COVID vaccine is no longer a priority for the government in Chisinau. Even our participation as an observer in the Eurasian Economic Council is not being capitalized on and is being boycotted by the current government”, Igor Dodon told a press briefing.
The politician says that in order to strengthen relations with Russia, he accepted the invitation to lead the Moldo-Russian Business Union, whose founder on the Russian side is "Delovaya Rossiya", the largest business association in Russia, with seven thousand members with an aggregate turnover of about $40 billion and over three million employees in various sectors.
“Both Moldova’s economy and Moldovan entrepreneurs will benefit from the proximity of our country to this influential organization. I’d like to mention that the Union was already created and registered in Chisinau in June of this year, and the main directions as head of the new business association will be the development of bilateral economic relations between the Republic of Moldova and the Russian Federation, attracting Russian investment in Moldova, assisting Moldovan entrepreneurs in establishing contacts with Russian partners and so on”, says Igor Dodon.
He went on to add that the Socialist Party’s executive council discussed at its latest meeting essential changes to the party’s bylaws, which will be put up to a vote at an extraordinary convention on December 18.
“First of all, at my proposal, the party will transition to a new leadership formula. The PSRM will be led by a body consisting of five members of the Executive Committee, from which the party’s executive secretary will be elected. This formula will allow us to distribute the responsibilities within the party leadership and work more deeply on each field of activity”, said Igor Dodon.
According to him, the position of party president will be abolished. “Therefore, at the December convention I will complete my term as president of PSRM, but I will remain in the party, I will remain with the team to prepare the return of the Socialists to power. The form of my political activity will change, but the goals remain the same. Some colleagues suggested that I should become honorary president of PSRM, but these details will be decided at the convention”, Igor Dodon added.
