Nicu Popescu, Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, has urged the Moldovan ambassadors to engage in an active political dialogue with EU member states in order to secure support for our country’s EU membership bid. “By building and strengthening these partnerships, we will continue to work to ensure the peace, security and prosperity of our country and our region, so that in the end we become a fully-fledged member of the EU”, said Popescu told the annual ambassadors’ convention in Chisinau attended by 40 heads of diplomatic missions.
The event was an occasion for the Moldovan diplomatic service to take stock of the progress made over the past year and draw new tasks in four areas: European development, dialogue, diaspora and economic diplomacy.
“We obtained EU candidate status. In this context, our next major goal is to fulfill the nine recommendations formulated by the European Commission, so that at the end of this year the enlargement report could recommended the start of accession negotiations with Moldova. It is important to secure the support of each EU member state”, noted Nicu Popescu.
He emphasized the importance of continuing to deepen the strategic partnership with Romania and supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. “We will also promote dialogue with strategic partners, including by opening a new embassy of our country in India and strengthen cooperation with international organizations such as NATO, CoE, UN, OSCE. We will develop our strategic partnership with the United States of America, including by strengthening political dialogue and cooperation within international organizations. Intense and permanent dialogue with our partners has allowed the sanctioning of those individuals who undermined the rule of law and defrauded the citizens of our country”, added Nicu Popescu.
According to him, a major priority of the diplomatic service remains to improve consular services, so that they become more accessible to Moldovan citizens outside the country. An objective set for the Moldovan ambassadors is the acceleration of negotiations and the conclusion of agreements for the conversion of driver’s licenses, agreements in the social field and the reduction of roaming tariffs. Additionally, it is important that the Moldovan embassies adopt a pro-active approach in planning and implementing cultural events dedicated to our diaspora community.
Nicu Popescu went on to add that a key direction is to promote Moldovan agricultural products and wines, with an emphasis on increasing exports, identifying new sales markets and attracting foreign investment to Moldova.
