Sweden has allocated €4 million to help Moldova cope with the refugee crisis. The money is provided for the Emergency Fund of the Republic of Moldova in response to the Moldovan Government’s call to the EU and other partners in connection with the refugee crisis, IPN reports.
The Embassy of Sweden in Moldova said that since the start of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova has opened its borders to the Ukrainian refugees. It is estimated that 460,000 Ukrainians and citizens from third countries passed the border from Ukraine to Moldova. The Ukrainian refugees who are currently in Moldova total 86,000, with almost half of these being children.
In the international donors’ conference for Moldova held in Berlin on April 5, Sweden was represented by Minister for International Development Cooperation Matilda Ernkrans, who reiterated Sweden’s commitment to help Moldova cope with the flow of Ukrainian refugees.
“A large number of the Ukrainian refugees who come to Moldova are women and an integrated gender approach is important in the work with the activities of the Emergency Fund. The Embassy of Sweden in Chisinau intends to address these issues, epically in the dialogue with the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Moldova and with the institutions that will conduct activities financed with money from the Emergency Fund,” the Embassy noted in a press release.
The Embassy also said that the large number of refugees will also have an impact on such aspects as the environment and natural resources, not in the last instance as regards local food production. With the support of international expert organizations, the Embassy of Sweden will contribute to a dialogue on the importance of taking into account the effects on the environment in the process of implementing activities.
Sweden undertook to offer consistent humanitarian assistance through the agency of international organizations working in the region, including in Moldova. Earlier, at the request of the Moldovan authorities, there were delivered ten emergency shelter tents that are 48 square meters in area, a large electricity generator, lighting and heating systems. Two Swedish emergency response specialists assessed the situation.
Sweden has a long-lasting partnership with Moldova, with assistance estimated at €15 million in 2022, for bilateral cooperation projects in the field of reforms. It has supported civil society organizations and multilateral entities through about 40 projects as part of the strategy for Sweden’s reform cooperation with Eastern Europe for 2021-2027. This strategy aims to support the reform agenda and to promote sustainable and democratic development from the perspective of vulnerable sections.
