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On February 3-4, President Maia Sandu paid an official visit to Paris, at the invitation of President Emmanuel Macron. It was the first time in 24 years that a Moldovan president set foot on French soil at the invitation of the head of state, as Emmanuel Macron mentioned. “Your visit here is not accidental. It corresponds to the turning point that the Republic of Moldova recently had, when a personality with integrity and backbone, who has been fighting for years for the rule of law and a state without corruption, has been elected as president,” the French official added.

On February 8, President Maia Sandu held a press briefing, where she presented the results of her working visit in France. According to the official, re-establishing an active dialogue with France is also of major importance for the dialogue with the EU, as France is the country that will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2022.

What’s more, “France is among the top ten investors in the Republic of Moldova. French companies offer our citizens thousands of jobs. The French language is a milestone for thousands of young people in Moldova who choose to study at universities in France. Also, tens of thousands of our fellow citizens live in France,” Maia Sandu stated.

Beside President Emmanuel Macron, the Moldovan head of state had common meetings with high-ranking officials, associations and business representatives in France, such as Gérard Larcher, President of the Senate of the French Republic, Richard Ferrand, President of the National Assembly, Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Amélie de Montchalin, Minister for Transformation and Public Service, Louise Mushikiwabo, Secretary General of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, as well as the management of MEDEF (Mouvement des Entreprises de France) – the largest employers’ association in France.

The meeting of Maia Sandu with French business representatives was attended by such companies as Alstom, Airbus Hélicoptères, Orange, Eco Delta, GE Capital, Oberthur Chash Protection, ADEPTA/GNIS, Société Geismar, L3G, IN Group, Veolia, TECOFI.

During the common meetings, the biggest challenges and reform priorities for Moldova were discussed – fighting corruption, reforming the judiciary, strengthening democratic processes and institutions, ensuring energy security, creating an economic environment conducive to business development, attracting investment and job creation, boosting development at the community level, as well as the Transnistrian conflict, the geopolitical situation, and the progress of Moldova in implementing the Association Agreement, as the Moldovan president informed.

Maia Sandu announced that the French Government intends to include Moldova in the list of countries eligible for assistance from the French Development Agency. A group of experts will pay a visit to Chisinau to explore possible areas of assistance in March 2021.

After meeting with potential French investors and representatives of French business environment, the head of state mentioned that their concerns are the same as those of domestic investors – distrust of Moldovan judiciary and attempts by various state officials to extort money from companies. “In other words – they fear corruption.” At the same time, a good news is that a project on the elimination of double taxation was initialled at expert level during the visit to Paris. As following, it would need to be approved and implemented by the Moldovan Government.

Topics related to the Moldovan diaspora issues (social protection and conversion of driving licenses for Moldovan citizens in France) were discussed, along with the need for consultancy in private and public sectors, at central and local level provided by French experts.

“This visit proved once again that we have real friends in the great European capitals – if we are open to reform, start a real fight against corruption and work for the rule of law.”

Photos: presedinte.md

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The remittances sent by Moldovans from abroad reached a record level in May 2020. The last time there was a larger amount of money transferred from abroad was only in October 2014.

The economic policy expert Veaceslav Ioniță believes that the significant increase is, paradoxically, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to his estimations, during the period of April-May, when there were quarantine and closed borders, Moldovan citizens could not bring into the country around $150 million. Part of this money were transferred through official transfer systems, that reducing the amount of unofficial transfers, is noted in the opinion published on the page of the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDSI) “Viitorul”.

According to the expert, one third of all money from abroad are usually transferred to Moldova through informal ways, without using any official money transfer channels. “Each year, Moldovans receive almost $1.2 billion through official transfers, but also they sell on the foreign exchange market about $2.1 billion. The difference of 900 million dollars per year is the money that is introduced into the country through informal ways,” said the expert.

The total recorded transfers between April to May amounted $227 million, that being $14 million more than in 2019. At the same time, the foreign exchange sales during this period represented only 50% of the last year’s amount – $259 million. “April and May 2020 were the only two months in the history of transfers, when the money came almost exclusively through official channels. This explains this ‘miraculous’ growth,” concluded Veaceslav Ioniță.

The number of Moldovan citizens aged 15 and over who were working or were looking for a job abroad was 352 700 in 2018, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data. That represented 35,68% of the total available workforce of the country in the same year.

People living in the Republic of Moldova, along with the whole economy of the country, are greatly dependant on the remittances sent by Moldovan citizens who live abroad. About 20% of all families with children in Moldova are supported by a family member who is a migrant. The concentration of such families in rural areas is three times higher than in urban areas, according to data from the NBS cited by the UNDP Moldova.

This money represent not only an important source of income for people living in Moldova, but also contribute to the increase of GDP nominal value. In 2018, the Republic of Moldova has been listed the 9th in a world ranking of remittances related to GDP, with a share of 16,1%, according to the World Bank data.

See also: Who? How? Where? Why? The migration profile of the Republic of Moldova

Due to the negative impact of COVID-19, remittances sent to Moldova are expected to decrease by 24-27% in the future, informed the UNDP Moldova. Decreasing remittance flows were predicted by the World Bank in the whole world. It was estimated that about 17% of all migrants have already stopped remitting to their families. In such a way, 23,4% of Moldovan households risk to be placed below the poverty line if they did not receive remittances.

Photo: Sharon McCutcheon| Unsplash

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On April 27, the Republic of Moldova and Romania marked 10 years since the adoption of a Joint Declaration on the Strategic Partnership establishment between the two countries for Moldova’s European Integration – “a partnership that opened new economic and cultural opportunities and converted Romania into the most important economic partner of the Republic of Moldova,” as it was declared in the Government’s official statement published after the meeting of Moldovan Prime Minister Ion Chicu with the Ambassador of Romania to the Republic of Moldova, Daniel Ionita.

On the same occasion, the Romanian Government announced that the Republic of Moldova would be provided with a support package in order to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. “In the Republic of Moldova, the situation is complicated. Romania, which is considered an extremely important partner, as we believe – the most important partner of the Republic of Moldova – will prepare and implement in a few days two important supportive measures,” mentioned President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, in a press conference today.

The support actions include a team of doctors and nurses from Romania who will voluntarily join their colleagues from the Republic of Moldova and a series of protective equipment donations funded by the Romanian Government: masks, sanitary materials, protective equipment and medicines, as the official announcement stated.

“Romania seeks, as a matter of priority, to provide direct support to the citizens of the Republic of Moldova, in the spirit of the existing special relationship based on the common language, history and culture, as well as based on cooperation within the Strategic Partnership for Moldova’s European Integration.”

The Romanian Government also reiterated its commitment to continue to support the fulfilment of the fundamental objective of European Integration of the Republic of Moldova, “the only one able to ensure the economic and social development of the Republic of Moldova in the benefit of its citizens,” as it was highlighted in the official notice.

The Romanian officials mentioned the results of the implementation of the Strategic Partnership in the 10 years since it was signed: the EU-Moldova Association Agreement, the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas, visa liberalisation, increasing economic exchanges and the access of the products of the Republic of Moldova on the markets of the EU states, including Romania, opportunities open to students, people of culture and science in the matter of connecting them to the European area of ​​education, culture and science, bilateral agreements followed by non-reimbursable financial assistance provided by the Romanian and the EU sides, construction of the Iasi-Ungheni-Chisinau gas pipeline, educational and cultural projects, scholarships, etc.

“The 10th anniversary of the Strategic Partnership is not only an opportunity for celebration, but should also represent a chance to look to the future with responsibility and pragmatism, so that, through renewed efforts, we can maintain and strengthen the European path of the Republic of Moldova.”

The Romanian officials brought also some criticism to the way things are managed in Chisinau. “Recent developments do not attest to the continuation or implementation of sustainable reforms in the direction of advancing the European agenda and do not provide the guarantee of a European path for the Republic of Moldova. Under these conditions, the development of the bilateral Strategic Partnership cannot be achieved to its true potential, according to Romania’s will and capacity,” the press release posted on the page of the Romanian Embassy to the Republic of Moldova said.

Therefore, further support would be strictly conditioned by the continuation of the reforms essential for the democratic development of the Republic of Moldova and advancement of its European path.

On the other hand, Prime Minister of Moldova Ion Chicu appreciated the special importance of the Iasi-Ungheni-Chisinau gas pipeline construction, thanked the Romanian Government for the provided support for modernization of some cultural and educational institutions and expressed his confidence that the strategic partnership between the countries will determine future socio-cultural and economic cooperation, opening new opportunities for the people and businesses of both states.

Photo: Romania-Insider