Latvia supports Moldova in its European integration efforts and hopes that the Association Agreement with the EU will be signed in 2014, during the current mandate of the European Parliament, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs said in a news conference given after a meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Natalia Gherman, IPN reports.

The official said that Latvia would like to see a differentiated approach to the Eastern Partnership. “We definitely see Moldova as a leader in the Eastern Partnership, with clear ideas,” said Edgars Rinkēvičs.

He also said that the Government of Moldova took important steps to fight corruption and to reform the justice sector and achieved important results in the modernization sphere. He welcomed the changes that took place in Moldova after the implementation of reforms, underlining that Latvia will continue to support Moldova.

Natalia Gherman said the European agenda is one of the priorities of the bilateral dialogue with the European officials. They discussed Moldova’s objectives before and after the Vilnius Summit, which are endorsed by Latvia. Moldova benefited from important financial resources from Latvia on its path to European integration and will continue to receive such support.

Prime Minister Iurie Leanca also had a meeting with the Latvian official. The two conferred on Moldova’s pre- and post-Vilnius Summit agenda given that the next EaP Summit will be held in Riga in 2015. The Premier spoke about the reforms implemented in Moldova and the infrastructure development projects, saying all the efforts are aimed at modernizing the state and coming closer to the EU.

Edgars Rinkēvičs has paid a working visit to Moldova on October 29-30, at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Natalia Gherman.