Moldova participated at the seventh Annual Eastern Partnership Foreign Ministers' meeting

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Andrei Galbur, participated on Monday, May 23, 2016 in Brussels, at the seventh annual Eastern Partnership (EaP) Foreign Ministers’ meeting, which brought together the foreign ministers of EU member states and EaP.

The meeting was chaired by the High Representative/Vice-President of the European Commission, Federica Mogherini. The event was also attended by the Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn.

In his speech, Andrei Galbur referred to the reform agenda, sectoral cooperation and future vision. It was emphasized the need to strengthen cooperation with the Eastern Partners to prevent internal vulnerabilities and external risks. Andrei Galbur expressed his hope that the upcoming EU overall strategy in the sphere of security and foreign policy will pay more attention to the stability in the Eastern neighbourhood.

Referring to the Moldovan proposals in the field of sectoral cooperation previously presented within the EaP, Andrei Galbur encouraged the promotion of interconnections with the EU in the field of transport, energy as well as initiatives that generate economic growth through attracting investment and development of small and medium enterprises.

The Moldovan Minister of Foreign Affairs highlighted the need of a more active strategic communication in order to inform efficiently the societies about the benefits of the Eastern Partnership. Also, Andrei Galbur pleaded for a policy-development perspective for the Eastern Partners in the context of future EaP Summit in 2017.

During the visit to Brussels also took place a working meeting in a narrow format of the EaP ministers together with the High Representative where was discussed specifically the issue of regional security.

At the same time, the meeting was a good opportunity to exchange views among Member States and the six Eastern partners in order to identify more opportunities for involvement of Member States in EaP initiatives and projects.

Source: www.mfa.gov.md