President Maia Sandu said the Republic of Moldova needs the National Army to be continuously modernized and transformed so as to be able to cope with the new challenges to the country’s security and to take a more active part in the ensuring of European and regional security. “There is national consensus on the necessity of strategically reforming the defense system and we have important support from the foreign partners for the efforts to reform the Army,” President Maia Sandu, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, stated in the meeting for coordinating the Defense Capacity Building Initiative, IPN reports.
According to the presidential press service, President Sandu encouraged the administration of the Ministry of Defense and the National Army to maximally and proactively use the opportunities offered by the project. She said the implementation of this ambitious plan is impossible without the expertise and assistance received by the Republic of Moldova from NATO and its member states and from the external partners. Maia Sandu noted she will support the Ministry of Defense’s approaches to augment the budget for modernizing the army and increasing salaries, with the efficient use of public funds being essential.
“I would like to see significant improvements in the method of using public funds, in accordance with the strategic objectives, and human resources management aimed at cultivating the service members’ loyalty to the country, not to a manager. The human resources are the main value of the defense system and it is the administration’s duty to offer all the necessary support to encourage and keep the trained staff in the system,” said Maia Sandu.
She requested the administration of the Ministry of Defense and the National Army to make concerted effort to implement the reform and to use the offered foreign assistance with maximum efficiency.
The Defense Capacity Building Initiative was launched by NATO in 2015. It envisions a package of expertise and assistance in developing and modernizing the National Army.
