Perciun: We Plan to Invest in the National Army

The Republic of Moldova doubled the budget of the National Army in 2023 to signal to external partners that the defense sector is important to the Moldovan government. PDS deputy Dan Perciun says that the National Army cannot be modernized solely from its own sources, and that aid from Western partners is needed as well, ipn.md reports. The 2023 budget of the Ministry of Defense is about 1.7 billion lei, which is 650 million lei more than last year. Thus, the budget for defense this year is 0.5% of GDP. Deputies say that money from the state budget is not enough to modernize the National Army. “The 2023 budget doubled the allocation for the National Army from the previous year. We have a strong political will to invest in the National Army this year, but with our own resources alone, it's hard to talk about modernizing the National Army. This increase from the state budget was also important as a signal to external partners, because if they come with non-lethal support, it is very important that we as a government demonstrate that we have realized the importance of the field. There was discussion with German representatives about the donation of drones and other equipment that should be arriving. The provided armored personnel carriers will be used for training to teach our military how to use such equipment,” Dan Perciun said during the Secretele Puterii program on Jurnal TV. Despite the fact that Moldova is a constitutionally neutral state, investments in defense are extremely important, experts say. The need for investment is dictated by Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine. “A neutral state by definition means a state capable of providing its own defense. Switzerland, surrounded by peaceful friendly countries, has one of the most efficient armies in the world. It is neutral, but far more militarized than many NATO countries. Neutrality does not mean the absence of an army. It is the sovereign decision of the people to be a neutral state, but it means that we have to be able to defend ourselves, to have an army capable of responding to potential threats. With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we are forced to consider a possible Russian army offensive against the Republic of Moldova,” WatchDog expert Valeriu Paşa said. The national army received a shipment of Piranha armored personnel carriers from the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany. The first units arrived in Moldova on Tuesday. The armored vehicles will be used to train soldiers who will take part in international peacekeeping missions.