Romania strengthens role as Moldova's major partner

The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) signed on Wednesday at the Romanian Embassy in Chisinau a financing agreement for the Romania-Moldova Development Partnership. The Contributions to the Romania-Moldova Development Partnership Project aims to establish public consultations on potential bilateral projects between the two countries and stimulate innovative and creative ideas to strengthen Romania's role as a major partner of Moldova on its path to development and Europeanization. The project will be implemented by the Chisinau-based Foreign Policy Association and the Romanian Center for European Policies. Experts will evaluate five strategic areas for bilateral cooperation, including energy, investment and justice reform, and will develop projects and strategies to present them to authorities and civil society in Chisinau and Bucharest. “Cooperation on these areas is fairly intense, but there is a need for an independent evaluation to identify potential room for improvement”, stated Romanian Ambassador Marius Lazurca. Ann Marie Yastishock, USAID Deputy Mission Director for Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus, said there is a lot Moldova can learn from Romania's European integration experience. “By learning from Romania's experience, Moldova could more easily cope with the challenges arising in this process and implement reforms at a faster pace”. The project has a budget of $100,000 and a time-frame of 12 months.