Moldova and Israel are set to sign a free trade agreement, implement a major project in agriculture and resume the Chisinau - Tel Aviv direct flight.
The foreign ministers of the two countries, Nicu Popescu and Eli Cohen, announced this at a briefing in Chisinau on Tuesday, noting that the countries will also sign a number of other important agreements for cooperation in different fields. Nicu Popescu described the current visit of his Israeli counterpart to Moldova as very important for the consolidation of the bilateral relations and the use of new cooperation opportunities in different fields, especially if we take into account that the first and the last visit of the Israeli Foreign Minister to Chisinau took place in 2011, and this pause in visits slowed down the political dialog between the countries. He said that now, after the mentioned pause, there is a period of revival of the Moldovan-Israeli dialog and resumption of high-level contacts. Nicu Popescu specified that during the discussions today, the sides touched upon many projects and concrete initiatives. The sides reiterated their interest in signing a free trade agreement following the talks, which will allow boosting the mutual trade volumes. The Moldovan diplomat said that in 2022, the Moldovan-Israeli mutual trade volume amounted to $42 million and increased by almost 70 per cent against the previous year. He said this shows that there is an important untapped potential for the expansion of the mutual trade. Nicu Popescu said that Moldova is interested in the growth of trade with Israel, wants to increase the export of cereals, fresh and dried fruits, nuts, juices, carpets to this country, as well as is interested in buying mineral fertilizers from Israel, in boosting ties in agriculture and in attracting Israeli investments in the Moldovan economy. He noted that at present, 408 enterprises with Israeli capital operate in Moldova, with their investments in the authorized capital amounting to 67 million lei. Nicu Popescu stressed that the countries highlighted the need to resume the direct flight Chisinau-Tel Aviv, as well as to boost cooperation in the transport and road infrastructure sectors. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration (MFAEI) head said that Moldova will adopt Israel's experience in the fields of general and emergency medicine, water resources management, agriculture, prevention of cyber attacks, etc. The sides will also boost cooperation in the security and defense fields. Nicu Popescu also said that the countries have completed negotiations on an agreement on the temporary employment of Moldovan workers in some sectors of Israel's economy and will sign it in the near future, which will make it possible to legalize the employment of Moldovan citizens in Israel, excluding intermediaries and the high payment for their services. The sides also intend to sign an agreement between Moldova and Israel on the conversion of driving licenses, liberalization of roaming and legal assistance. For his part, Eli Cohen described the visit as historic, which will bring concrete results for the citizens. He expressed gratitude to the Moldovan authorities for preserving the memory of the victims of the Holocaust, for the fight against anti-Semitism and for the preservation of the memory of the victims of the Chisinau pogrom. Eli Cohen said that a major operation was discussed with the Moldovan authorities to ensure the safe transit through Moldova of a representative delegation of Hasidic Jews from Israel, who will make a traditional pilgrimage trip to Uman (Ukraine) in September. Referring to the development of economic ties, he emphasized that the Israeli Agriculture Minister will pay a visit to Chisinau in October, noting that the sides intend to implement a large, unique project in the agricultural sector. Eli Cohen emphasized that the resumption of direct flights between Chisinau and Tel Aviv will help develop tourism and business. He noted the interest in boosting trade with Moldova and making new investments. // 08.08.2023 – InfoMarket
