Volunteers and officials from the U.S. and Moldova gathered in Chisinau’s central garden on July 16 to celebrate 50 years of the foundation of the Peace Corps, Info-Prim Neo reports. “It is a special pleasure for me to open today’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Peace Corps in the world and 18 years of work by the Peace Corps in Moldova,” said Peace Corps Moldova director Jeffrey Goveia. U.S. Ambassador in Chisinau Asif Chaudhry said that during his stay in Moldova he always spoke about the wonderful relations between the United States and Moldova. “These relations are based on the understanding built through the spirit of the Peace Corps Volunteers. The U.S. has a developed spirit of openhandedness, while Moldova is hospitable and something nice appears when these two qualities unite,” said the diplomat. Attending the ceremony, Minister of Agriculture Vasile Bumacov said the experience exchange for Moldova is important, while the volunteers who worked at Moldovan farms inspired a feeling of pride for agriculture. The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand U.S. culture, and helping Americans to understand the cultures of other countries. More than 200,000 Peace Corps Volunteers have served so far in host countries to work on issues ranging from AIDS education to information technology and environmental preservation. Over 1,000 of them have worked in Moldova.