About 100 representatives of the local public authorities of France and Moldova will take part in a two-day seminar entitled “Decentralized France – Moldova cooperation, an advantage for attractiveness of regions”. The agenda of the event, staged by the Embassy of France in Chisinau, has three main themes, namely intercommunity cooperation, role of the diaspora and development of rural tourism.
First Councilor of the Embassy of France Jeremie Petit, in a news conference at IPN said the goal of the event is to present the essence of decentralized cooperation and its advantages. According to him, this instrument, which offers the possibility of ensuring efficient cooperation, is not broadly used between Moldova and France. Within the seminar, there will be presented the French experience in this field and different models of cooperation between French communities.
Jeremie Petit noted that the small communities in a country often meet with difficulties in developing public services, but the partnerships between communities can facilitate this. The combination of efforts between communities can also facilitate cooperation with communities from other states and access to projects financed with foreign funds. The diaspora is a liaison between communities in different countries. In France, there are many communes where Moldovan migrants live and there is now a rich experience of cooperation through the agency of the diaspora.
The event is organized in partnership with the Congress of Local Authorities of Moldova (CALM), the Ministry of Regional Development and Construction and the Institute of Administrative Sciences of Moldova.
Institute of Administrative Sciences president Maria Orlov said intercommunity cooperation in Moldova is at the incipient stage, while rural tourism represents a huge opportunity in this regard. By initiating common projects between communities of Moldova and France, this potential can be fully realized.
CALM executive director Viorel Furdui said there is no intercommunity cooperation in Moldova for now. The seminar will present the French experience and will show how public services of a high quality can be developed by partnership. The French model shows that 3-5 mayor’s offices can develop services together and can ensure that these services do not depend on the size of the community.
The seminar will take place at the tourist complex “Costesti” on October 6 and 7.
