"Moldovan ambassadors should actively promote economic diplomacy, attract new investors, and help with finding alternative solutions to overcome the energy crisis," Maia Sandu stated.
This was stated by Moldovan President at the opening of a meeting of Moldovan ambassadors under the general title "Moldovan diplomacy in the context of regional opportunities and challenges," in which she participated along with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Nicu Popescu. The head of state noted that the most important achievement of the foreign and domestic policy of Moldova in the past year was obtaining the status of candidate country for membership in the European Union. In the context, she listed as top priority for the Moldovan diplomacy its next steps on the European integration path, to work harder to successfully implement the Action Plan for the implementation of the nine recommendations of the European Commission for Moldova. Maia Sandu said that it is a difficult process and much work is ahead, but she urged the diplomats to use all the existent possibilities to foster it. She called Moldova's European integration a common task for all. "The European integration process takes time, and there are many things we need to do, but it is always possible to speed up the process. European integration is not just the job of the ambassador in Brussels; European integration is the job of all of us, especially the ambassadors who are in Europe. You should keep in mind that you have to perform a double task - the task of improving bilateral relations, as well as the task of increasing our chances for European integration. We have to work with all countries, including in the context of the security crisis and Ukrainian refugees. And it is also important for ambassadors, wherever they are, to inform our citizens abroad and local authorities about the promotion of reforms in Moldova in the process of European integration," Maia Sandu said. She also urged diplomats to continue helping the country to overcome the energy crisis, noting that alternative solutions are needed to ensure the country's energy security not only in the short, but also in the medium and long term. To this end, it is important to look for potential partners, new solutions in order to implement major projects for the future. President of Armenia also attached importance to the efforts of the ambassadors in the fight against corruption and tasked them to foster better relations and expand cooperation with the law enforcement bodies especially of those countries where those who emigrated from our country have settled or where the money withdrawn from our country are kept in order to make progress in the process of returning the money stolen by fraudulent means. Maia Sandu also said that the protection of citizens' interests by improving the quality of consular services, as well as the active promotion of economic diplomacy is another important direction for diplomats. She described as important the promotion of Moldovan exports, especially in conditions of the current crisis, which has disrupted trade relations with many countries. "We need to find new markets, to help exporters get to stable markets, where the quality of products is valued above all and not something else, such as political aspects, for example," she said. The head of state also called on the ambassadors to work actively in attracting investments, noting that there are examples of new investors coming to our country even now, despite the crisis. In this regard, she pointed to the new resident of the Balti Free Economic Zone, a company from Denmark. "We must actively present our trade and investment opportunities to potential investors, talk about possible benefits, as well as continue working to improve the business environment," the President said. She also spoke in favor of active strengthening and expanding bilateral ties between the countries, especially given the excellent relations with the country's strategic development partners and maximum openness on their part. "We should actively use this, improve bilateral relations, expand trade, sign new agreements for the economy and Diaspora, we have a busy agenda and big challenges, but we have to cope with them," the head of state said. A meeting of Moldovan ambassadors is taking place in Chisinau on August 18-19. The aim of the event is to review issues related to the implementation of our country's foreign policy and to define new tasks and priorities in the short and medium term, to evaluate the work of the diplomatic missions and to increase their effectiveness. The meeting addresses issues related to recent developments in international relations, in particular threats to regional and international security. According to the MFAEI, the problems of the Diaspora, ways of ensuring social protection of Moldovan citizens temporarily working abroad are also priorities on the agenda. To this end, the heads of diplomatic missions will take part in this year's Diaspora Day, organized under the slogan "A small country with a big heart". // 18.08.2022- InfoMarket.
