Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Nicu Popescu met with his Latvian counterpart Edgars Rinkēvičs and with other officials while in Riga. The interlocutors discussed the bilateral Moldovan-Latvian relations and the regional situation influenced by the war in Ukraine, IPN reports.

Edgars Rinkēvičs said the Latvian authorities are solidary with Moldova’s efforts to ensure the security of the Ukrainian citizens who flee from the war. “We realize the war’s impact on the Republic of Moldova and the whole European community continues to make effort to support the people of Moldova,” the Latvian official stated in a news conference held together with his Moldovan counterpart.

For his part, Nicu Popescu said that Moldova is in a very difficult, but not dramatic situation. The Moldovan authorities bank on the development partners’ support. “Moldova is directly affected by the fact that the Russian rockets shell Ukrainian energy infrastructure. We have a high rate of inflation, the price of energy resources is high, but we are making effort to find solutions for the country with the assistance of the foreign partners,” stated the Moldovan official.

He noted that the offering of support to Ukrainian refugees who fled from the war and the obtaining of the EU candidate status are Moldova’s greatest accomplishments in 2022. “We are making effort to reform the justice sector, to do reforms. We have projects designed to ensure the energy security of the Republic of Moldova, but this is a long road,” said Nicu Popescu.

As regards the Moldovan-Latvian relations, Nicu Popescu said the two states have very good cooperation relations and Moldova fully benefitted from the support of Latvia, which financed multiple projects to ensure democracy and initiatives to democratize medical institutions. In 2023, there will be constituted a Moldova – Latvia economic commission that would strengthen investment in the two states. Moldova will also host a summit of the European community to which Latvia is invited.