Romania's technocratic Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos pays his first formal visit to Chisinau.
Romania supports the continuation of the reform process in the Republic of Moldova and the peaceful settlement of the conflict in Transdniester. This is part of the statement made by Romanian PM Dacian Ciolos, at the end of Thursday's visit to Chisinau. Ciolos underlined that, beyond the moral support granted by Romania to the citizens of the Republic of Moldova, a country with a predominantly Romanian speaking population, Bucharest disbursed a first 60 million Euro installment of a loan spaced out on four and a half years, with a preferential interest rate of 1.45%.
Dacian Ciolos:
"What we expect and what we support is the continuation of the reform process. In this line of thought we include this loan agreement, with a first tranche being already disbursed to the Government of the Republic of Moldova. We have granted and will further grant support to the Moldovan government, considering that this cabinet has committed itself to implementing certain reforms and hopefully this will happen."
The first installment can be used to finance public development projects, to rehabilitate roads and unblock public procurement. Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos also underlined in Chisinau the importance of boosting Romanian investment in the Republic of Moldova. Romania is Moldova's main trading partner, and the continuation of reforms will encourage Romanian investors, the Prime Minister went on to say, giving the example of Transgaz and Translectrica companies. In turn, Prime Minister Pavel Filip reiterated Moldova's wish to embrace not only the European values and principles, but also to join the energy networks, in an effort to eliminate old vulnerabilities. He stated that the two sides had agreed to step up cooperation in the energy field.
Pavel Filip:
"We will advance with the process of achieving the interconnection of the power grids, but we will also develop the interconnection of the gas network. In this case, I am referring to the expansion of the Ungheni-Chisinau gas pipe-line."
On the occasion of the Romanian Prime Minister's visit to Chisinau, a standpoint was formulated on Romania's role in the new regional context, in the wake of Crimea's annexation by Russia. Dacian Ciolos:
"Romania is a NATO and EU member, a politically and economically stable country, which wants to assume the role of contributor to maintaining stability and security in the region. At the latest NATO Summit in Warsaw, we called for the support of other NATO allies, for an increased presence in the region, to deter anyone who would like to fuel and maintain conflicts in the region. We have encouraged the resumption of dialogue in the 5 plus 2 formula, in order to find pragmatic solutions to the Transdniester conflict, through dialogue. We also want to use the role we can play within the EU, in order to mobilize other European partners into supporting this approach in the Republic of Moldova."
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