There are no problematic matters in Latvian-Moldovan relations, Valdis Dombrovskis

The relations between the Republic of Latvia and the Republic of Moldova are good and are spared from problematic matters, the Prime Minister of Latvia Valdis Dombrovskis said in an interview for IPN Agency that was published on February 22, 2013. The Latvian official had been in Chisinau on an official visit on February 20. “If characterizing the bilateral relations in a few words, I would say that they are very good, are open and have developed dynamically, especially over the last few years,” said the Latvian official. Asked if the recent visit to Moldova was paid for certain special reasons, including problems that require tête-à-tête meetings, the Latvian official said there are no problematic issues in the bilateral relations. “I can say with pleasure and satisfaction that there are no problematic matters in the Latvian-Moldovan relations, which would create a negative background to the bilateral relations. The major goal of my visit to Chisinau was to transmit our support for Moldova’s European integration course. By this visit, Latvia wants to show its political support for the efforts made by Moldova to come closer to the EU and to justly appreciate your state’s accomplishments in the field of reforms,” he stated. According to the Premier, another component of the visit was the passing on of the experience in fields in which Latvia achieved results, including corruption combating. “Our delegation included the head of the Latvian Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau Iaroslav Strelcionok, who had a meeting with his Moldovan counterpart and discussed the cooperation prospects between the two institutions. For example, the Latvian Bureau already shared its experience in controlling the spending of political parties within the cooperation with the State Audit Bureau of Georgia. I think this positive experience can be of interest to the Moldovan colleagues,” said Valdis Dombrovskis. He also said that over the last eight years, Moldova successfully implemented different projects to the value of €1.4 million with the support of Latvia. Among the successful projects implemented in Moldova in 2005-2009 are the transferring of our experience in securing the state border, implementing the EU veterinary standards and quality standards for food products, doing reforms in the area of self-management, and the supporting of civil society in Moldova. “Last year, Latvia, in cooperation with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the European partners, implemented two projects in Moldova: in the area of justice reform and in the area of regional development. Latvia intends to continue the two projects this year,” said the Latvian official. He explained the interest that his county has in the relations with Moldova and other ex-Soviet states. “I want to emphasize that Moldova is one of Latvia’s foreign policy priorities in the context of the Eastern Partnership initiative. Latvia takes an active part in the realization of the Eastern Partnership as this region (Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan) is in our immediate vicinity. Besides, Latvia has historical relations with these countries. We are sincerely interested in having democracy, peace and welfare in this region,” the Latvian Prime Minister said in an interview for IPN titled “Dombrobskis: Moldova’s good pace in Eurointegration should be justly appreciated”.