The capital of Moldova, Chișinău, has signed new deals for a total of EUR 80 million in subsidies and EUR 305.1 million in preferential loans to develop the country’s economy.
Moldova, which has a large Russian-speaking minority, has alternated between pro-Russian and pro-Western governments since the fall of the Soviet Union, and now has a strong Western-oriented administration.
Moldova’s pro-EU president, Maia Sandu, said foreign investment would be the driving force of her country’s development in the near future.
“Economic growth and democracy need each other,” she said during the 5th summit of the Moldovan Partnership Platform in Chișinău, which was attended by the top diplomats of most EU countries.
European Union and U.S. diplomats visited Moldova recently in a show of support ahead of a presidential election and a referendum on EU accession, both set for October 20.
These events are being closely monitored by Transnistria, a pro-Russian breakaway republic which remains formally part of Moldova, and which has been garnering support from Moscow over recent years.
Commenting on the stakes of the presidential election, the Polish foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, who attended the summit in Chișinău, said Moldova is at a crucial position amid the Russia-Ukraine war.
“At this critical time, Moldova is a country that has a chance to avoid the risk of war and use the opportunities that the international environment currently offers it. The Moldovan platform for cooperation is just such an opportunity,” he said amid concerns about broadening Russian interference in the region.
Some politicians at the summit voiced strong support for Moldova’s pro-European policy. Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, pointed out that Moldova took in a large group of Ukrainian refugees in a show of solidarity.
"You have shown that if your neighbors want to stay here, they can stay here, close to their homes, language, culture. More than 125,000 Ukrainians have stayed here, which is more than 5 percent of Moldova's population," said Baerbock.
For more than two years, Moldova has had candidate status for joining the EU, with a target date of 2030 for entering the bloc.
The foreign investment under the new deals comes from the U.S., Canada, Switzerland, and EU countries and institutions.
