Switzerland during more than 20 years has contributed to the development of the Republic of Moldova with almost 300 million Swiss Francs, or 6 billion Moldovan Lei, over the entire period, Guido Beltrani, Director of the Swiss Cooperation Office in Moldova, stated in a Swiss Summer Day event that was held in Chisinau to also celebrate beforehand the Swiss National Day set on August 1, IPN reports.

The diplomat said that since the beginning of the Russian military aggression against Ukraine, both the financial volume and the thematic scope of the program implemented by the Office have considerably increased. Their guiding principles are to support reforms which are on the agenda of the government and which contribute to the European integration path of Moldova, and at the same time to strengthen the resilience of the country in dealing with the consequences of the war in Ukraine.

Giving an example, the speaker spoke about his impressions of the visit he made three months ago to “Ștefan cel Mare” High School in Bălți, where pupils learned to draft public policy proposals in the “Education for Society” course, developed by the Council of Europe with financial support from the Swiss Government. “It was impressive to see young women and men submitting well-grounded proposals to the municipal authorities on how to address local problems and improve local services. Learning already at school the practices of active citizenship and democratic participation is the best prerequisite for contributing to preserving a vibrant democracy in the years and decades to come,” said Guido Beltrani.

Also, the introduction of innovative solutions, promoted by a Swiss funded project, enabled Moldovan agricultural entrepreneurs from Soldanești, Criuleni or Ialoveni to improve the quality of their produce and to start selling delicious Moldovan cherries and hazelnuts to high-value European markets, contributing in this way to increasing Moldovan exports. Projects are also developed in the fields of digitization, outfitting of hospitals with state-of-the-art equipment.

“We also support the involvement of Ukrainian refugees who give inspiring examples of how they successfully started a new business in Moldova. None of these results would have been achieved without the determination of the Moldovan authorities to advance with reforms and the dedication of thousands of teachers, medical workers, entrepreneurs and civic activists throughout the country. I would like to heartfeltly thank all of them,” concluded the Swiss diplomat.