Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met this morning with the Prime Minister of Moldova Dorin Recean, at Maximos Mansion.
The Prime Minister congratulated his Moldovan counterpart for the first EU-Moldova Intergovernmental Conference held a few days ago in Luxembourg, which officially opens the way for EU accession negotiations with Moldova.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed that Greece supported and continues to support Moldova’s accession perspective and is ready to provide technical assistance in the accession process.
During the meeting, they also discussed bilateral cooperation, with emphasis on transport and energy, as Greece contributes to Moldova’s energy security through the supply of natural gas. The two leaders also underlined the importance of the expansion of the ‘Vertical Corridor’ with the accession of Ukraine, Moldova and Slovakia.
A Memorandum on mutual recognition of driving licences was signed during the meeting.
The dialogue between the two leaders at the beginning of their meeting follows:
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: It’s a pleasure to welcome you to Athens. Please send my best regards to Madame President. I had an opportunity to meet her in Switzerland and to reiterate the importance we place on strengthening our bilateral relations. Let me express my satisfaction about the significant progress you have made at the beginning of this long but fruitful and productive process towards joining the European family.
Let me reiterate once more that we stand by your country, which is facing significant geopolitical challenges in the aftermath of the Russian invasion into Ukraine. You can always count on Greece’s support.
Dorin Recean: Thank you very much, Prime Minister. Greetings from President Sandu, too. We are both looking forward to host you in Chișinău, sometime in September. We’re looking forward to it. Again, thank you very much for the great support that Greece has offered to Moldova along the EU integration path. We know that this is not a simple problem to solve, particularly now, in these challenging times. But we strongly believe, like what I understand Greece believes, that a larger Europe means a stronger, a peaceful and more prosperous Europe.
I’m very happy that both countries share the same vision. I think Moldova and Greece have many things in common, even historical and cultural elements. This brings us even closer. I would like to thank you for your personal involvement in bringing Greeks and Moldovans closer, by having…
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: We opened our embassy in Chișinău.
Dorin Recean: Then the other thing that I wanted to mention is the new embassy in Chișinău. Thank you very much. This is very important. Thanks again for playing an important role in the energy independence of Moldova. 25% of the gas that Moldova consumed last year was supplied from Greece. This April, we made the first acquisition from the LNG regasification terminal from Greece. This is a great beginning.
