Moldovan PM, German economic cooperation minister discuss bilateral ties, investment opportunities

Chisinau, 29 May /MOLDPRES/ - Prime Minister Vlad Filat today met German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Dirk Niebel. At the end of the meeting, the officials held a joint news conference, the government's communication and press relations department has said.

At the meeting, the sides broached bilateral ties between the two states, Moldova's European integration process, as well as the latest evolutions in the dialogue on EU integration.

At the news conference, Filat mentioned that the German delegation's visit to Moldova is paid in an extremely important period for the country - the 20th anniversary of the Moldovan-German diplomatic ties.

"While assessing the twenty years of diplomatic relations, we can ascertain that the Moldovan-German dialogue has seen a dynamic development in terms of quality and consistency. We hope that this partnership will further develop, as we regard it as very important for the future of the Moldovan-German relations," Filat said.

The prime minister said that Germany's openness and support, in particular during the comprehensive reform in Moldova's society and economy, as well as in the EU integration process, once again prove the fact that Germany is a sincere and reliable friend of Moldova.

The prime minister also said that Moldova could not attain achievements on its EU integration and reintegration path without Germany's support and direct involvement.

At the same time, Germany's willingness to further cooperate with Moldova resulted in the implementation of a string of joint projects with the Interior Ministry, the Defence Ministry, the Health Ministry and the Education Ministry. The prime minister said that on the sidelines of their visit to Moldova, Dirk Niebel and the German delegation will have the opportunity to see the outcome of these projects.

"We hope that Germany will further take part in the EU Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine. We highly appreciate the assistance provided to the Moldovan police by the Criminal Federal Office and we hope to benefit from your support in the inauguration of a Consultancy Centre for Judiciary Police in Chisinau," the prime minister said.

Filat also said that Germany has offered significant support to the development of sustainable economy in Moldova and welcomed the creation of the association for Moldovan-German Economic Cooperation. In the context, he noted that the Moldovan-German forums have already produced results and expressed hope that such events would be further organized.

"The foreign trade turnover between Moldova and Germany stood at 507.4 million dollars in 2011, with Germany ranking fifth among Moldova's top trade partners. As many as 381 German enterprises are operating in Moldova. The German investments in Moldova account for 66 million euros, which makes 7.3 per cent of the overall quota of foreign investments," Filat said.

The prime minister praised the successful implementation of financial assistance projects and welcomed the German authorities' decision to further provide assistance to Moldova, through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation.

For his part, German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Dirk Niebel said that Moldova is an important partner for his country. He added that the German authorities have welcomed and have vowed to back the EU integration process initiated by the Moldovan authorities.

"We firmly back the implementation of reforms by the Moldovan government. This process includes the creation of investment-friendly conditions, the modernization of the national agriculture, the promotion of the rule-of-law state of civil society, as well as the eradication of corruption," the minister said.

He noted that the successful implementation of reforms, in particular of those in the justice field, will significantly cut the poverty rates in rural areas.

"On 30 May, jointly with the Swedish government, we will sign a memorandum that will serve as a model and will lead to the development of regional planning in the country. I am talking about a memorandum in the field of water supply and waste management," Niebel said.

The minister said that in his visit to Moldova, he is accompanied by several business people who are analysing investment opportunities here.

"I am glad that I am accompanied by a delegation of business people who came here to familiarize with eventual development of their companies in Moldova. We want to invest in an important economic growth, which will make it possible to reduce poverty. It is quite difficult to attract German investors to a country. Yet, once they decide to launch their businesses there, they stay there for a long time. There are already many German residents here. If favourable conditions are created in Moldova, more German investors will come, which will speed up its EU integration process," German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Dirk Niebel said.