The agrifood sector in Moldova is a key element in the country's European integration process, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Dacian Ciolos said in a news conference held jointly with Prime Minister Vlad Filat, Info-Prim Neo reports. The Commissioner explained that in the immediate future Moldova can mobilize important economic resources in the agrifood sector. The country's European future will partly depend on the Government's capacity to explore the economic and social potential of the rural areas in the short and medium term, he stressed. Dacian Ciolos also said that the orientation to the European markets supported by policies of a higher quality will help attract foreign investment to Moldova so as to develop the agrifood sector and create new workplaces. He reconfirmed the EU's readiness to assist Moldova in its efforts to strictly monitor the quality of the agrifood products through technical and financial assistance programs. Premier Vlad Filat stressed that the development of agriculture is one of the Government's priorities. The autonomous trade preferences granted by the EU played an important role in boosting exports of agrifood products to the European markets. The free trade agreement that is now negotiated with the EU will give a new impetus to improving the quality of the agrifood products and diversifying them.