Ionita: Romanian Authorities Will Change Moldova’s Financing

Romanian Ambassador to Chisinau Daniel Ionita said that the Bucharest authorities will change the financing logic of the Republic of Moldova. During his visit to Balti, the Romanian diplomat said that Bucharest would finance only specific community-based projects. The ambassador is disappointed that, despite large investments from Romania, according to some opinion polls, many Moldovans consider Russia to be one of the main investors, although Moscow does not invest heavily in the welfare of Moldovan citizens, as Bucharest does, tvrmoldova.md reports. “For a while, we will be very cautious with whom to collaborate, because we want Moldovan citizens to be real beneficiaries of these projects. When you arrive in Chisinau, you are struck by so many beautiful houses and expensive cars given that the salary in the Republic of Moldova is very low. This is a terrible discrepancy, and at the same time money is required from the outside every time,” Daniel Ionita said. Recently, in a study conducted by the International Republican Institute, Moldovan citizens were asked what they think of the states that invested in the Republic of Moldova. Citizens put the European Union with 47 percent in the first place, Russia with 27 percent in the second place, the United States with 5 percent in the third place, and Romania with 4 percent in the last place. In this regard, Ambassador Daniel Ionita reminded of nearly one thousand kindergartens in the Republic of Moldova repaired in recent years exclusively with the money allocated by the Bucharest government. The Bucharest authorities also contributed over 190 school minibuses to all regions of the Republic of Moldova. The diplomat noted other projects funded by Romania. Recall, yesterday Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said that Romania will resume full cooperation with the Republic of Moldova when it sees that actions to continue the country’s European path are being taken at the government level. The head of the Romanian state noted that only citizens-oriented support projects, community-based and strategic accession projects will be continued. “We will resume full cooperation only when we see that specific actions are taken at the government level aimed at continuing the European path, the reform process, especially in such areas as justice, administration and the fight against corruption able to ensure a democratic path and predictability of the country,” the Romanian President added.