Washington DC, 20 July 2022 (TDI): The US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita in Washington, DC, on July 19.
Secretary Blinken took to his Twitter and ensured continued support for Moldova’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and democratic reform agenda.
Good discussion with Prime Minister @natgavrilita today on helping Moldova address the humanitarian and economic impacts of Russia’s war against Ukraine. The United States will continue to support Moldova’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and democratic reform agenda. pic.twitter.com/oQ5eJAYjXa
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) July 20, 2022
Agenda of the Meeting
Secretary Blinken and Prime Minister Gavrilita discussed US assistance to support Moldova’s refugee response and reform agenda.
They also discussed US assistance to support Moldova’s energy, security, and humanitarian response to Russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine.
The Secretary congratulated Moldova for obtaining EU candidate status and its progress on continued reforms to advance its European integration.
The Secretary and the Prime Minister also discussed the announcement of US assistance to Moldova at the Moldova Support Platform in Bucharest on July 15. According to this, the U.S. government, working with Congress, plans to program an additional $64.5 million to support Moldova.
This will help Moldova’s long-term democratic and economic resilience that will help defend its sovereignty.
US-Moldova Relations
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States recognized Moldova’s independence on December 25, 1991. In March 1992 it inaugurated an embassy in Chisinau, the country’s capital.
The United States supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova. On that basis, it supports the negotiations to find a comprehensive settlement for the separatist region of Transnistria within Moldova.
Moldova, a state with a little market, benefits from liberalized trade and investment to encourage exports of its products. A U.S.-Moldovan trade agreement providing reciprocal most-favored-nation tariff treatment took effect in 1992.
In addition to that, the same year, an Overseas Private Investment Corporation agreement was also signed. This encourages U.S. private investment in Moldova through direct loans and loan guarantees. In 1993 a bilateral investment treaty was also signed between the states.
The US granted Moldova a generalized system of preferences status in 1995, and some Eximbank coverage became available the same year.
