Hungary supports the unblocking of European financing intended for the Republic of Moldova. The 90% implementation of the priority reform action roadmap for carrying out the Moldova-EU Association Agreement is a praiseworthy result, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Péter Szijjártó said in a meeting with President Nicolae Timofti, IPN reports.
The Hungarian minister, who is paying a visit to Moldova, said the Eastern Partnership is a priority for Hungary, while the made progress must offer Moldova the possibility of integrating into the EU in a near future. As regards the Transnistrian dispute, the official noted that his country supports the restoration of Moldova’s territorial integrity. He also said that Moldova can serve as an example of organization of the national minorities for the EU as not many European democracies offer autonomy to an ethnic group.
In a meeting with Speaker of Parliament Andrian Candu, the Hungarian official encouraged the authorities to continue the reforms in conditions of political stability and reiterated Hungary’s support for Moldova’s European course. Péter Szijjártó said Hungary is interested in financing investment projects in Moldova and could provide a credit line to the value of €70 million intended for Moldovan business entities.
According to the Government’s press service, Hungary is among the main partner of Moldova. Bilateral trade in 2015 came to US$73.6 million. In a meeting with Prime Minister Pavel Filip, the Hungarian minister underlined the importance of intensifying the commercial relations between Moldova and Hungary, noting the implementation of mutually advantageous projects in agriculture, border management, public order and emergencies.
Péter Szijjártó also discussed with his Moldovan counterpart Andrei Galbur. The two conferred on the cooperation in education and science. The Government of Hungary provides scholarships to Moldovan students within the program “Stipendium Hungaricum”. The Moldovan minister said the number of these scholarships has doubled in a relatively short period of time and the partners in Budapest are ready to contribute to increasing this number.
