Thirty-seven bilateral treaties were signed in the course of 2023. Out of them, 15 are interstate treaties, 17 are intergovernmental treaties, while seven treaties were signed by the foreign affairs minister. Three interstate and intergovernmental treaties entered into force, including of those signed before 2023, shows an annual report by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, which is quoted by IPN.
Out of the 37 bilateral treaties, some regulate areas of major importance for the citizens of the Republic of Moldova. These are: the Social Security Agreement between the Republic of Moldova and the Republic of Latvia; the Grant Agreement drawn up by exchange of notes between the Government of the Republic of Moldova and the Government of Japan on the implementation of the Provision of Farmers with Fertilizers Project; the Cooperation Agreement between the Republic of Moldova and the Portuguese Republic in the fields of language, education, higher education, science and technology, culture, sports, youth and the media and others.
Also, cooperation agreements were signed in specific areas: the Agreement on the Status of the European Union Partnership Mission in Moldova, which aims to eliminate hybrid risks; the Agreement on the Republic of Moldova’s participation in the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism, the Agreement on the extension of the mandate of the European Commission Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine until November 30, 2025.
Treaties with an impact on the diaspora entered into force in 2023, namely: the Social Security Agreement with Italy, the Social Security Agreement with Greece, the Agreement on Conversion and Mutual Recognition of Driving Licenses with Turkey. Negotiations continue for the conversion of driving licenses with France, Georgia, the UK, Spain, Greece, Israel, Latvia, North Macedonia, and Albania. In order to ensure a framework of social security guarantees for migrant workers from the Republic of Moldova, negotiations continue on bilateral social security agreements with France, Cyprus, Slovenia, Slovakia, Israel, Canada, and Switzerland. As regards the avoidance of double taxation, negotiations on the draft treaties are being held with Japan, Korea, Germany, Iceland, Romania, Egypt, and Turkmenistan.
At the same time, Moldova denounced 44 treaties with the CIS out of a total of 282 treaties to which it was a party, according to the examinations carried out in early 2023. Moldova also supported the establishment, under the aegis of the Council of Europe, of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on the Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
