Moldovan president notes importance of cooperation with EAEU
CHISINAU. Nov 29 (Interfax) - The economic interests of Moldova, where agriculture is the main competitive sector, lie in the East, in EAEU, Moldovan President Igor Dodon said on Wednesday at the second session of the joint working group for interaction between the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) and Moldova in Chisinau.
"We should cooperate and be friends with everyone, try to get into all markets: in the West and in the East. But at the same time, we should clearly realize that our economic interests in traditional spheres lie in the East," Dodon said.
"For me, it is extremely important to develop economic cooperation above all to create jobs here in Moldova. Agriculture has always been one of our main competitive sectors. And statistics confirm that demand for agricultural products is fully observed in countries of the Eurasian economic space," he said.
Dodon said that the main commodities exported by Moldova to EAEU countries are apples (98% of all apple exports), plums, cherries, etc. (73% of fruit exports), canned vegetables (77%), and medicine (66%).
"Considerable growth of exports to the markets of EAEU countries has been observed in the Russian Federation, Belarus, Armenia, and Kazakhstan," Dodon said.
He said that at the meeting in Chisinau, the results of the first session of the joint working group were summed up.
"Namely, it considered the proposals of the Moldovan side to support the agro-industrial sector of this country. It discussed in detail measures of state support for agriculture in EAEU member-states and the mechanisms for supporting agricultural-production exports applied in the EAEU. It addressed legal regulation in the sphere of sanitation, phytosanitary and veterinary measures, and the protection of consumer rights in the EAEU," Dodon said.
At a meeting with the Eurasian Commission's minister for integration and macroeconomics, Tatyana Valovaya, on Tuesday, Dodon voiced hope that Moldova's observer status with EAEU will be approved next year.