The teams of police officers, border police officers and officers involved in migration management will become more mobile, faster and more efficient in maintaining security and public order. The assistance to the value of almost US$1 million provided through the agency of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) contains vehicles, generators, smuggling combating toolkits, modular containers. The assistance was offered by the U.S. Government, the Government of Japan, the Government of the UK and the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) as part of several projects designed to strengthen Moldova’s response capacity to the Ukrainian refugee crisis, IPN reports.
In the handover ceremony, Minister of Internal Affairs Ana Revenco said that since the first days of war in Ukraine, the traditional partners have stood by Moldova and helped it to resist. “The support offered today with generosity by Japan and the UK will help the teams of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) to become more mobile, faster and more efficient, to develop the analytical component and the response capacities of the police officers, border police and our mates from the migration sector. Ukraine continues fighting at the cost of life to defend its territorial integrity and security in the European Union. By combining forces, we help Ukraine resist and beat the aggression that threats us all,” stated the minister.
Japan’s Ambassador to Moldova Yoichiro Yamada said the maintaining of public order requires a lot of discipline and training in times of peace. “It is much harder to maintain public order against the background of a violent war in the neighboring country and the hybrid war in your country. We hope that this contribution with equipment offered by Japan to the Republic of Moldova, through the agency of IOM, will assist your work to strengthen security in accordance with democratic principles. The cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Moldova inspires me with pride, joy, profound respect and gratitude,” stated the official.
Edward Inglett, Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Chisinau, said that owing to this partnership, Moldova’s capacity to manage borders has improved significantly this year. “At the European Political Community Summit held here on June 1, the UK announced £10.5 million in additional humanitarian assistance to guarantee that the refugees here have access to basic services and protection and to strengthen the national social protection system so as to satisfy the needs of the most vulnerable persons, refugees and Moldovans. We hope this efficient cooperation will continue next year, especially in the planning of emergency responses, and while the international and national humanitarian and development partners continue to work to reduce the disaster risk,” stated the British official.
“We managed to see the complex mission of the institutions and to respond by this partnership. We managed to analyze the increased mobility of the three agencies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, energy security and the analytical capacity, especially as regards the General Inspectorate for Migration. We thank you for this very close cooperation as we can work together to enhance the capacities of the institutions that are so important for the country’s stability in this special situation,” said IOM Moldova Chief of Mission Lars Johan Lönnback.
Lars Johan Lönnback read the CEB’s message. “It is an honor for the CEB to swiftly mobilize, following the launch of the Russian aggression against Ukraine last February, €500,000 in grant funding from its fund for migrants and refugees to respond to the immediate needs of the refugees and to strengthen Moldovan authorities’ capacities to cope with the influx of refugee. The assistance provided to refugees, migrants and displaced persons is one of the CEB’s statutory priorities since its founding in 1956,” says the CEB’s message.
