Press release, 20 August 2013
Vydas Gedvilas, Speaker of the Seimas, met with Igor Corman, President of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova.
Mr Gedvilas congratulated Mr Corman on the occasion of the 22nd anniversary of Independence Day and Moldova’s National Day. “May I wish you every success in establishing for your citizens a safe and prosperous state based on European values,” Speaker of the Seimas said.
The Speaker also expressed his delight with the formation of a new ruling coalition and the government which renewed stability and ensured the continuity of the pro-European agenda. In Mr Gedvilas opinion, the two things are necessary at the moment.
“In June, the negotiations on the EU-Moldova Association Agreement, including the provisions on the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, were finalised. You are very close to the initialling of this Agreement, which is the aim of the 3rd Eastern Partnership Summit to be held in Vilnius in November,” noted the Speaker.
The Speaker also commended Moldova’s progress in finalising the implementation of the visa liberalisation action plan. In the words of Mr Gedvilas, it means undoubted progress in the simplification and liberalisation of the visa process.
According to the Speaker of the Seimas, Lithuania appreciates Moldova’s contribution to promoting the civil society dimension of the Eastern Partnership. The annual Civil Society Forum hosted in Chisinau, capital of Moldova, proves this fact the best.
Mr Gedvilas also stated that in 6 years almost 2 million LTL were allocated from the Lithuanian development cooperation programme, about 70 projects were implemented, and active inter-institutional cooperation, especially in legal affairs, has started. “Lithuanian experts continue to participate in various projects and share their EU integration experience. I would like to stress that we are ready to continue our expert assistance to Moldova in key areas,” underlined the Speaker.
Tomas Beržinskas, Adviser to the Speaker of the Seimas, tel. +370 5 239 6019, mob. +370 698 42 786, e-mail: [email protected]
