Austria’s Parliament will hasten the ratification of the Association Agreement between the EU and Moldova, Second President of the National Council of the Austrian Parliament Karlheinz Kopf said in a meeting with Moldovan Speaker Igor Corman, IPN reports.

According to the Parliament’s press service, Karlheinz Kopf assured that the legislative body of Austria will not only include the ratification of the accord in the autumn agenda of Parliament, but will also persuade other EU member states to ratify it as a matter of urgency. He urged continuing reforms so as to bring Moldova closer to the EU.

Igor Corman said the swift ratification of the Association Agreement by the Austrian Parliament will be a powerful signal of solidarity with Moldova. Five states have so far ratified the accord, namely Romania, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Bulgaria.

The Speaker called on the Austrian business community to invest in Moldova’s economy, saying there is unrealized potential and areas holding interest for the Austrian businessmen.

Igor Corman thanked the Austrian donors for the support offered to the Moldovan citizens within different technical assistance and development projects, approving of the decision of the Austrian Development Agency to keep Moldova high on the list of states receiving its assistance. Until now, 22 projects to the value of about €19 million have been implemented in Moldova through the Austrian Development Agency, in such areas as governance, strengthening of institutional capacities, vocational education, water supply and others.

The Second President of the National Council of the Austrian Parliament Karlheinz Kopf is visiting Moldova for the first time.