The Diaspora Days’ open doors day at the government brought together tens of representatives of the Moldovan diaspora and members of the Cabinet of Ministers. The returned migrants could ask their questions and receive answers directly from the officials. The authorities presented the latest mapping of the Moldovan diaspora in six countries and the Diaspora Excellency Groups, IPN reports.
Olga Coptu, head of the Bureau for Diaspora Relations, said that 65 projects have been implemented by Moldovan migrants with the help of the Diaspora Engagement Hub. She also praised the exemplary mobilization of Moldovans abroad during the presidential elections in 2017 and thanked them for their hundreds of projects by which they promote our country. “We don’t want to divide our migrants, we have only one diaspora and one country. For the government, Moldova and the diaspora are wherever our citizens are”, she added.
Octavian Calmic, Minister of Economy and Infrastructure and Deputy Prime Minister, described today’s event as a moment of sincerity meant to find solutions for the problems that are troubling our co-nationals. He encouraged the diaspora representatives to come forward with any economic or innovative initiatives they may have so that these ideas might get a chance to become reality.
Minister of Education, Culture and Research Monica Babuc shared her certainty that the diaspora and the migrants are a gold mine for Moldova, because the experience they bring back is extremely necessary for our communities.
Matthias Leicht, representative of the Swiss Cooperation Office, said that migration is a serious problem for Moldova, given that one third of the labor force is abroad. “When the active workforce leaves, there is also a brain drain. But if we consider the positive potential of migration, we can look at it not as a social problem, but as an opportunity for economic development”, he explained.
Antonio Polosa, head of the International Organization for Migration’s mission in Moldova, thinks this event can help authorities in Chisinau develop a policy that would strengthen the relations between the diaspora and its home country and to frame these relations in a multidimensional context.
A study regarding Moldovan migrants in Russia, Italy, Portugal, Germany, Israel and Great Britain was presented, showing that most Moldovans leave for economic reasons and that labor migration accounts for most of the country’s international migration.
The biggest Moldovan communities are in Russia, Italy and Israel. Most migrants are fit for work, usually with higher education, but employed in unqualified positions. The majority don’t see themselves coming back.
The diaspora representatives asked the government when the reforms in Moldova will bear fruit and what the authorities are doing to decrease the cost of remittances. Deputy PM Calmic told them that the government is not taxing remittances and that there is only a 1% fee charged by commercial banks for the withdrawing of cash.
The migrants were pleased by the adoption of the Strategy for inclusion of people with disabilities 2017-2022, but are worried by the low budget for its implementation.
The discussion also touched upon the topic of elections. Given the reform of the voting system, the migrants asked how many electoral districts will be alloted to the diaspora, which represents one third of the country’s labor force. They also asked about the steps taken to prevent the involvement of the church in the electoral process as it happened during the previous campaign.
Octavian Calmic explained that the government is currently working on the secondary legislation for the implementation of the new electoral system.
The first day of the Diaspora Days continued with thematic seminars at the Palace of the Republic.
