In an exclusive interview with INBusinessnews, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Moldova, Mihai Popșoi, expresses his country's deep gratitude to the Cypriot leadership for the decisive support in its European path, while at the same time sending a clear message to the Cypriot business world.
Characterising Moldova as an ideal and open destination for business expansion, Popșoi highlights the IT, energy, pharmaceuticals and textile sectors as fields with huge prospects for Cypriot investors who wish to take advantage of the “window of opportunity” before the country’s full accession to the EU. At the same time, he underlines Moldova’s geostrategic importance as a logistics and transit hub for Ukraine’s future reconstruction project, laying the foundations for strong and lucrative bilateral economic agreements.
Mr. Minister, your visit to Cyprus is particularly important. You also had a joint press conference today with your counterpart, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus. It is very important for us to know the results of your visit and what the strengthening of relations with Cyprus means for your country.
Indeed, it has been a rather rewarding visit to Cyprus in light of the incredible partnership between our two countries. We are incredibly thankful to the President of Cyprus and the leadership here and the people of Cyprus for supporting the Republic of Moldova during the Cypriot Presidency in the European Union. We managed to open the first clusters and chapters of negotiations, and this will go down in history as opening the road for Moldova into the European Union. We have many similarities in our history, in our culture, and we appreciate enormously the openness and the friendship of the Cypriot people. And we look forward to building on this strong foundation between our two countries.
You have already moved us to my next question, which concerns precisely the path towards EU accession. I would greatly appreciate it if you could briefly describe to us the stage your country is currently at.
Currently, we have just opened the second and third cluster. The fourth and fifth remain, and we are determined to open them as soon as possible so that in the year to come, we can start looking into closing chapters so that we make use of the window of opportunity that we currently have.
We have delivered at home in terms of reforms. Last year's enlargement report speaks volumes about Moldova's progress, and this year's enlargement report will hopefully also showcase the incredible determination that the Moldovan people and the Moldovan government has in order to realise this unique opportunity and really the chance of our generation to bring Moldova into the European family of nations. And the reforms speak for themselves.
Our partners, both, bilaterally, member states and Brussels on EU institutions, see the transformation that Moldova is going through. Be it the rule of law reform, be it human rights consolidation, be it the resilience that we've shown in the face of incredible interference and hybrid tactics employed against Moldova. Moldova have resisted, and in the meantime, we're able to support Ukraine by welcoming one of the largest number of refugees per capita.
So despite the challenges, Moldova is advancing, Moldova is reaching meaningful progress, and this is a testament to the resilience of the Moldovan people, but it is as much a testament to the incredible solidarity that the international community and Cyprus has shown to the Republic of Moldova.
Let's focus more on Cyprus and the economic aspect. Beyond political and diplomatic relations, where do you see the greatest prospects for stronger economic cooperation between Moldova and Cyprus? Which sectors offer the most promising opportunities for trade, investment and business partnerships, and what would you say to Cypriot companies considering Moldova as a destination for investment or expansion?
Moldova is very much open for business, and now ahead of the EU accession, there are many opportunities worth exploring across sectors: IT, energy, textiles, pharmaceuticals. Moldova is laying out the red carpet for investors. We are trying our best to make sure that our partners realise something that is often neglected, that when it comes to a candidate country, the opportunities are so large, and it is to the benefit of both the candidate country and the investors.
If we look at the enlargement rounds before, the investors that have come early managed to gain incredible benefits if we are looking at, at, uh, entire Eastern Europe, the great transformation that has happened. So there are many opportunities in Moldova, and we would love to have more Cypriot investors in the Republic of Moldova to make the most of the transformation.
Also, in light of the reconstruction effort in Ukraine, hopefully the war will end, and we'll be able to breathe with a sigh of relief, but also engage in the tedious and important work of rebuilding. And Moldova will make its logistics infrastructure available for partners to participate in that big effort. So the opportunities are there, and we are happy to facilitate on the government side, our friends who would come to, uh, build the investments that they already have or provide greenfield investments in Moldova.
One last question. I am certain that there have been discussions with your Cypriot counterpart, Constantinos Kombos, about the Cyprus Problem as well. I completely agree with you, Minister, that you too are facing challenges of territorial disputes, so I believe that you can fully understand the situation here. I would like to close with your own assessment of the future of Cyprus and its national problem.
Given our own challenges, we always have to be optimistic. And, we support the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Cyprus, just like Republic of Cyprus supports the territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova and the relevant UN resolutions that are guiding this process.
So we have to remain hopeful, but we also have to engage in good faith and work hard towards that goal. And the Republic of Moldova will always be a reliable and trusted partner for Cyprus, both bilaterally and multilaterally as well, given the strong relationship that we have and the incredible show of leadership and determination that Cyprus and the President showed during the Cyprus Presidency in the European Union.
(Source: InBusinessNews)
