At the beginning of next week, Dmitri Kozak, the Russian deputy prime minister and the presidential special envoy for Moldova, will pay a visit to Chisinau. This was agreed during a meeting between President Igor Dodon and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the margins of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council Summit in Nur-Sultan. Also next week, Igor Dodon has been invited by Vladimir Putin to attend the International Economic Forum in Saint Petersburg.

In a Facebook post, Igor Dodon said he delivered a speech at the summit wherein he underlined the fact that Moldovan society has always shown an increased interest in the integration projects of the post-Soviet space, first in the Customs Union, and now in the Eurasian Economic Union.

Igor Dodon recalled that one year ago Moldova became an observer within the Union, which allowed the country to participate in many events and better understand the principles and tasks of this structure. However, the president says, Moldova’s participation as an observer would be much more efficient if the Government were also involved in this activity. Igor Dodon added that he hopes the internal struggles in Moldova will be over soon and the future Government will start to cooperate actively with the Eurasian Economic Union.

According to the president, Moldova’s trade with the member countries of the Eurasian Economic Union in 2018 rose by 10% on the previous year, and in the first quarter of this year by 3.4% compared to the same period last year. Tis was mainly due to an increase in imports, which exceed three times Moldova’s exports.

At the summit, Igor Dodon proposed Chisinau as a host for some events of the Eurasian Economic Commission, including business forums with the participation of third countries which plan to cooperate with the Eurasian Economic Union.