How Much Maia Sandu Foreign Visits Cost in 2023? Presidential Office Report

In 2023, President Maia Sandu made 21 official visits abroad. The most visits, three to be exact, were to Romania, and two working visits each to Ukraine, Switzerland and the US. The head of state also visited Germany, Poland, Great Britain, Canada, Iceland, Austria, Greece, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the Czech Republic. The head of state made her first visit in 2023 to Switzerland, between 16-20 January. In Davos, Maia Sandu participated in the World Economic Summit. The business trip expenses, budgeted by the Presidential Office, exceed 67,000 lei, including subsistence allowance, accommodation and air transport. On 16-19 February, the President visited Germany to attend the 59th Munich Security Conference. The travel expenses covered by the Presidential Office totaled 43,000 lei. On 21-22 February, Maia Sandu paid a working visit to Warsaw (Poland), and the business trip expenses amounted to over 14,000 lei. On 23 February, the head of state went on a working visit to Bucharest (Romania), and the expenses from the budget of the Presidential Office were similar to those for the visit to Warsaw. On 31 March, the President attended the Bucha-2023 Summit, which was held in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. No funds from the budget of the Presidential Office were spent on this visit. In the second quarter, as in the first quarter, the head of state made five visits abroad. On 3 April, she had a one-day visit in Bucharest, for which she spent more than 14 thousand lei. From 4 to 6 May, Maia Sandu was in London to attend the coronation ceremony of His Majesty King Charles III. More than 22 thousand lei was spent from the Presidential Office budget. In the same month, on 10-12 May, the President paid a working visit to the Canadian city of Montreal. The visit expenses exceeded 55,000 lei. On 12-13 May, the President continued her working visit to Chicago in the United States, spending over 19,000 lei. On 16-18 May, the head of state participated in the European Council Summit, organized in Iceland. The expenses totaled about 30 thousand lei. The third quarter of last year started with a visit to Austria. On 26-29 July, Maia Sandu participated in the Salzburg Summit. The expenses totaled almost 12 thousand lei. On 21-22 August, the President took part in the working meeting of the heads of states and governments of South-Eastern Europe and Western Balkans, organized in Athens, Greece. There were no expenses from the Presidential Office budget. On 28-29 August, the head of state participated in the Strategic Forum in Bled, Slovenia, and the expenses amounted to more than 6 thousand lei. At the beginning of autumn, on 3-5 September, Maia Sandu paid a working visit to The Hague in the Netherlands. The trip expenses totaled about 43,000 lei. On 5-6 September, the President paid a working visit to Bucharest, with expenses amounting to over 14,000 lei. The head of state participated in the high-level segment of the 78th United Nations General Assembly session, held from 17 to 21 September in New York, USA. The expenses approached 38,000 lei. From 30 September to 4 October, the President paid a working visit to Lisbon, Portugal. The business trips expenses exceeded 20,000 lei. From Portugal, the President travelled to Spain. There, from 4 to 6 October, Maia Sandu participated in the European Political Community Summit, held in Granada. The expenses totaled about 33 thousand lei. Another working visit took place on 15-17 October to the Czech capital Prague, and the trip expenses amounted to about 19,000 lei. Later, from 17 to 19 October, the President paid an official working visit to Switzerland, to the cities of Bern and Zurich. More than 58,000 lei was spent from the budget of the Presidential Office for this purpose. The last trip abroad last year was to Kyiv, where the head of state made a working visit on 21-22 November. The expenses from the Presidential Office budget totaled over 5,000 lei.