Nicolae Ciucă: Romania has strengthened its status of main trading partner of Moldova; bilateral trade between the countries has increased by $1.2 billion in 2022 - up to $3.6 billion.
Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă stated this at a joint briefing organized in Bucharest on the occasion of the first foreign visit of the new head of the Moldovan government, Dorin Recean. Romanian Prime Minister said that the two countries have a great potential for extending cooperation and ensuring social and economic stability for mutual benefit. The sides agreed to step up work in this area and to hold the 12th meeting of the inter-governmental commission for economic cooperation and business forums between the two countries. Nicolae Ciucă said the sides discussed Moldova's European integration agenda, including the implementation of reforms in different fields, integration into the EU's internal market, liberalization of trade and reduction of roaming fees. Romanian Prime Minister also said that Romania confirmed its bilateral intentions through concrete actions: direct budgetary support worth 10.3 million euros, the delivery of electricity, firewood, fuel oil and other forms of support. In addition, last week, the Romanian government approved a memorandum on the construction of a bridge across the Prut River on the border with Moldova (Albita-Leuseni), as well as two memorandums of support for road bridges across the Prut between the cities of Cahul and Oancea and in Sculeni. Projects are being implemented in the field of transport and facilitation of traffic on the border, in the energy sector, etc. For his part, Dorin Recean expressed gratitude to the Romanian side for the constant support provided to Moldova on issues of European integration, energy security, trade and economic cooperation. He spoke in favor of continuing the strategic partnership and using the potential of both countries, including at the level of Romanian and Moldovan business people. Dorin Recean expressed Moldova's interest in attracting foreign investments from Romania in different fields, including the energy sector. He said that talks have begun to simplify some long-term contracts for the purchase of electricity and natural gas on the right bank of the Prut River in order to diversify the geography of purchases. In this context, Moldovan Prime Minister once again expressed gratitude to Romania for its support last autumn, when Moldova was practically left without energy resources due to the war in Ukraine. Dorin Recean also said that Romanian experts will advise Moldovan state institutions on European integration (in agriculture, transport, environment, etc.). // 01.03.2023 – InfoMarket
