Mr President Zelensky,

I am honored to be here, in Kyiv, the capital of a European nation which showed so much courage, strength and resilience in its fight for freedom and independence. We in Moldova fully support Ukraine’s territorial integrity, and I pay my deepest respect and honor to the Ukrainians who sacrificed their lives to defend their country, its sovereignty and its future as a European nation.

President Zelensky and I discussed three sets of issues today: regional security and European integration as a shared goal for Moldova and Ukraine, our bilateral agenda and our efforts to build functional institutions for citizens of our countries.

First and foremost, Moldova regards strategic partnership with Ukraine as an important pillar of its own security. European integration and the implementation of the Association Agreement with the European Union are our key shared goals with Ukraine.

A few weeks ago, Moldova was still run from the shadows by an oligarch who captured all state institutions and exploited Moldova as his personal fiefdom. He has turned Moldova into a grey area rife with smuggling and money laundering, which threatened economic and border security of Moldova’s two neighbors and strategic partners – Romania and Ukraine. This will stop now and Moldova will become a reliable, predictable partner for Ukraine.

Second, my government wants to strengthen Moldova’s bilateral relations with Ukraine. We want stronger collaboration with Ukraine in the economic and energy sectors. We will seek to establish permanent and fully functional joint border controls in order to genuinely secure our borders against crime and smuggling. We need a strong partnership to improve the ecological situation on the Dniester river and resolve other bilateral issues. I am confident that we will be able to find solutions in the interest of our citizens and our joint European agenda.

Finally, domestic reforms. I would have liked to come to Kyiv to discuss simpler things with you, Mr President, such as bilateral trade and economic growth. Unfortunately, our challenges today are of a different order of magnitude. Moldova’s key problem today are dysfunctional institutions. My country urgently needs major domestic transformation.

In today’s world, the saying that a closed society inevitably becomes backward and weak has become an established truth. But a closed society also becomes oppressive and corrupt. Development in the modern world is built on three pillars - functional institutions, technologies and flourishing human capital. The government that we are building must serve Moldova’s citizens, enforce respect for human rights and provide opportunities to pursue one’s calling in life, not engage in state-sponsored smuggling, money laundering and mugging of state-owned enterprises. 

Patriotism is not lofty words which simply hide naked self-interest, personal enrichment and control over everyone and everything. Patriotism is when you build, through hard work and sacrifice, the institutions that will last, will make your country stronger and will earn the confidence of the people.

For Moldova today there is no other choice. We must build an open society which will convince our people that the state works for them. We must encourage and promote our most talented people, our business community, not use the police and the prosecutor’s office to take away the businesses they have been building for years because corrupt officials want the revenues that these businesses generate.

After many years of misrule and corruption, we put an end to an oppressive regime which was despised by the absolute majority of Moldova’s citizens. Fortunately, for Moldova that period is over.

The Ukrainian people have always stood up against oppression. We in Moldova share the same values. We are a free people. We value human dignity. And we value human life and fundamental human rights. And we, too, will do all we can to uphold them.

Thank you