In Rome, Deputy Prime Minister Nicu Popescu had several meetings with high-ranking officials

September 15, 2023, Rome – On the sidelines of his working visit to Rome, Minister Nicu Popescu had several meetings with high-ranking officials, but also a heart-to-heart meeting with members of our diaspora in Italy.

With his Italian counterpart, Antonio Tajani, Nicu Popescu discussed the European path of the Republic of Moldova and our significant progress in implementing the nine recommendations of the European Commission. Together with Minister Tajani, the Moldovan official signed the joint declaration on the consolidation of the Moldovan-Italian strategic partnership. At the same time, an exchange of opinions was carried out with the experts of the European Council for Foreign Relations regarding the subject of our country’s accession to the EU.

Deputy Prime Minister Nicu Popescu also had meetings with the Minister of European Affairs, Cohesion Policies and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, Raffaele Fitto, and with the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edmondo Cirielli. On this occasion, the firm commitment of our authorities was discussed to advance on the agenda of pro-European reforms.

“At the Vatican, I also held a meeting with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations of the Holy See. We referred to the dramatic consequences of Russia’s unjust war against Ukraine, the humanitarian crisis generated by this conflict, including our country’s contribution to hosting Ukrainian refugees, and we mentioned the importance of dialogue in international relations.

About the situation in Chisinau, our efforts to preserve peace, stability and to move quickly towards joining the European Union, but also about our very good cooperation with Italy, I discussed with our diaspora here, which I encouraged to continue promoting the Republic of Moldova in Italy as a tourist and business destination. We also told our compatriots about the ministry’s efforts regarding the digitization of consular services, the recent test launch of the online appointment service, the development of the e-consulate application and the reduction of consular fees this year by about 50%.

With the support of the government team, we will also support other initiatives requested by citizens, including the negotiation process for the transformation of driver’s licenses. The social protection agreement between our countries will soon enter into force.

I also gave an interview for the publication “La Reppublica”. In the discussion with journalist Tonia Mastrobuoni, I referred to the process of our country’s accession to the EU, the implementation of the nine recommendations of the European Commission, as well as the excellent relations between our states.” – concluded Nicu Popescu.