Within a two-day official visit to Moldova, the Slovak Minister of Foreign Affairs, Miroslav Lajčák had a meeting with Iurie Leanca, Deputy Prime-Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, followed by a plenary meeting of the two diplomatic delegations.

Noting with satisfaction the strengthening of political dialogue between Moldova and the Slovak Republic, Iurie Leanca stated that the visit of his Bratislava counterpart was a very important mark in the development of bilateral relations. In this connection, specific aspects of the bilateral cooperation, as well as formulas for multilateral cooperation were addressed.

The head of the Moldovan diplomacy thanked the Slovak side for the assistance provided in various areas, stressing the importance of its support in the process of European integration of our country. The Minister referred to the implementation of reforms and emphasized the significance of the Slovak experience in the process of accession to EU. He also spoke about the need of a population’s mentality change once we advance through this process and stressed that the financial aid of 100,000 Euros granted by the Slovak Republic to the Moldovan National Public Broadcaster will contribute to modernizing this institution which has a special role in informing the public opinion in an accurate and fair way. Mr. Leanca welcomed the fact that Miroslav Lajčák came to our country accompanied by a group of Slovak businesspersons and representatives of the civil society, who established tight cooperation ties with their Moldovan partners.

Miroslav Lajčák asserted, in his turn, that Moldova is a priority country among the state to which Slovakia provides assistance. The head of the Bratislava diplomacy noted that he came to Chisinau “to express the full support of the Slovak Republic within the process of European integration of Moldova”, since the European perspective is the best option for our country. According to the Slovak Minister, “Moldova is now very well regarded by the European Union” and this positive attitude “is a unique chance which shouldn’t be missed”. In this context, it is very important for Moldova to implement the planed reforms with diligence and the Slovak Republic expressed its availability to offer full support to our country in this undertaking.

A Joint Statement of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Moldova and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic on Cooperation in the Area of European Integration was also signed today at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, after which Miroslav Lajčák and Iurie Leanca delivered press statements and answered questions of journalists.