The Republic of Moldova has been invited by Romania to make a new start in cooperating and strengthening relations in the area of tourism between the two countries, Info-Prim Neo reports. Lucia Morariu, State Secretary of the Romanian Ministry of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, Commerce, Tourism and Liberal Trades, told a ceremony of launching a new Romanian bureau for tourism promotion in Moldova that the relations in the field had been largely neglected in recent years. To redress the situation, the Government of Romania, with the help of the Tourism Ministry, has launched a cooperation project in the area of tourism for Moldova. Now, according to Morariu, Moldova may profit from all the financial and moral support it can get from Romania to embark on a new stage in developing tourism relations. “It is very important for us to return to Moldova, back to the path of tourism – the path of peace and understanding – to this beautiful country, our sister and friend. By developing our tourism industries together, our positions on the European map will surely look better,” said Lucia Morariu. In her words, to make tourism promotion possible at national level, a budget is needed. To make a budget possible, there is need for political will, especially among tourism authorities. And such will does exit on the part of Romania, said Morariu, adding that Romania is open to cooperation in promoting Moldova’s tourism services, by offering assistance and advice in amending the specific legislation and by participating in joint tourism conferences and fairs. She went on to add that Romania is ready to assist Moldovan travel agencies by providing them with the opportunity to participate alongside Romania in combined tourism programs and by facilitating their free access to tourism events held at home and abroad, where they will be welcome at the official stands of Romania. All the Moldovan tourism operators need to do to benefit from assistance is to offer high-standard services and products. The event also served as an occasion to launch the idea of jointly organizing so-called mirror events in both countries, with the help of the Romanian Government and tourism associations. The new Romanian bureau for tourism promotion has been opened to handle all the objectives established by the new project with an eye to a long-lasting partnership. Attending the event, Chisinau Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca has stated that the development of tourism relations between Romania and Moldova represents a current priority, as tourism may become a potential source of income for Moldova. Dorin Chirtoaca has noted that the new project is perfectly harmonizing with the tendency of developing tourism in this part of Europe.