The Moldovan agricultural products will be appreciated on the EU market in time, Prime Minister Iurie Leanca said in the opening of the Conference of Agriculture and Rural Development Ministers of the Eastern Partnership and European Union Member States that is held in Chisinau on January 23, IPN reports.
The Premier considers that the given meeting shows the EU’s solidarity to its partners. He underlined the importance of the agrifood sector for the economic development of Moldova. In the first three quarters of 2013, the agricultural sector contributed 12% to the GDP and offered direct workplaces to about one quarter of the working population. The agrifood production represents 40% of the exports.
“I remember a report saying that Moldova’s agriculture needs about US$2 billion in investments to fully realize its production potential. For Moldova, this is an astronomic figure. That’s why the attraction of ‘cheap’ money is very important,” stated Iurie Leanca. He also referred to the €75 million loan provided by the European Investment Bank for implementing a successful project in the winemaking sector.
Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vasile Bumacov said it’s not a secret that Moldova needs the support of its partners to overcome the problems faced in agriculture. “We received assistance from the partners from Lithuania, Poland, Romania and other states for creating the Agency for Payments and Intervention in Agriculture, which is an important institution for Moldova. The needs of Moldova’s agriculture do not differ much from those in other EU and EaP member states,” he stated.
In the event, the participants were able to see an exhibition of Moldovan agricultural products and to taste them.
The conference is attended by agriculture and rural development ministers and deputy ministers of the Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, and Ukraine) and of a number of EU member states. There are 25 delegations overall. In the end, the participants will adopt a joint statement.
