Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič Pays an Official Visit to the Republic of Moldova

From 19th to the 21st June 2007 Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič and his wife paid an official visit to the Republic of Moldova.

At a meeting with Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin Gašparovič assured him of Slovakia’s support of Moldova’s convergence to the European Union. Voronin thanked him for the support Slovakia provided to Moldova in its integration effort. Slovakia represents a model example of successful integration for Moldova, therefore Moldova wishes to utilize Slovakia’s experiences with the EU and NATO integration process.

The Moldovan President said that, with effect from 1st January 2007, his country had abolished visa requirements for European Union Member States, including Slovakia. Ivan Gašparovič appreciated this initiative and said that Slovakia would attempt to simplify its visa regime with Moldova even after Slovakia’s entry to the Schengen area. He added that as of 20th June 2007 Slovakia stopped requiring deposits from Moldovan citizens for entry visas to Slovakia and confirmed the simplification of the visa regime with Moldova.

The Slovak President also met with the Moldovan Prime Minister, Vasile Tarlev. At the meeting, Tarlev praised the success of Slovak reforms and its integration into Euro-Atlantic structures. Moldova would like to intensify trade cooperation with the Slovak Republic. The major problem is, according to Tarlev, the Trans-Dniester conflict. In this context he thanked Slovakia for its participation in an EU assistance mission at the Moldovan-Ukrainian border.

 As part of the official programme, the presidents of Slovakia and Moldova opened the Slovak-Moldovan Economic Forum. In his address to the forum participants, the Slovak President mainly praised the rapid growth of the Slovak economy and briefly touched on economic reforms and Slovakia’s entry to the Eurozone.

At a meeting with Marian Lupu, the Speaker of Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, Gašparovič discussed bilateral cooperation between Moldova and Slovakia as well as cooperation between their national parliaments. At the end of his official visit Ivan Gašparovič delivered a speech at the State Moldovan University and was awarded an honorary doctorate.

In his address Gašparovič noted that Slovakia had had to exert an extreme effort in order to sort out its problems and catch up on what it had been behind with, and to convince its current allies that it had been firmly resolved to carry out reforms with all their consequences. In his opinion, an important fact was that governments followed a course whose aim was to speedily perform the necessary reforms.

The President further described Slovakia’s economic reforms, tax system, reforms in social security and health insurance, and healthcare and education system reforms. He also presented the guarantees Slovakia may offer to foreign investors. “Slovakia is permanently ranking higher and higher on lists rating living standard and business environment. In some areas we have managed to get ahead of our neighbours though we significantly lagged behind them only some ten years ago. Slovakia’s stability, advantages and good prospects have also been confirmed by world’s renowned rating agencies. Slovakia appreciates Moldova’s resolution to hold its pro-European course. Slovakia fully supports your course and offers you help and its experience from the integration process,” Ivan Gašparovič said.