Moldova and NATO are preparing for a “superior form” of partnership in 2024. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration (MAEIE) is the institution that will negotiate the new partnership with NATO, Europa Liberă reported.
At the end of 2023, Moldova extended by one year its Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) with NATO, and from 2025 the country is going to switch to a new cooperation program, called Individually Tailored Partnership Program (ITPP). This is after NATO initiated a process of reforming its partnerships, introducing the “One partner, one plan” concept, which provides that several cooperation programs and instruments of the alliance with each partner state will be incorporated into a single framework.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration (MAEIE), the institution that will negotiate the provisions of the new partnership with NATO, told Europa Liberă that the parties will initiate consultations in 2024 and establish the new objectives of the cooperation for 2025-2028. It is not clear for now what these would be, but according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they could be influenced by the changes in the regional security due to Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine.
The purpose of the new program, as representatives of the Ministry of Defense explain in a response for Europa Liberă, is to create a “synergy in the existing cooperation mechanisms and instruments”.
Speaking with Europa Liberă on condition of anonymity, two NATO officials, said the alliance would step up its “political and practical support” to help Moldova become more resilient. Both agree that Moldova “makes valuable contributions” to Euro-Atlantic security and that NATO should support its integration into the EU.
One of the officials explained that the document will bring an “upgrade” to the Moldova-NATO relationship, will include “about ten” areas of cooperation (from cyber defense to disinformation, to climate change) and will take into account the threats that Russia poses for Moldova.
