MOLDOVA IS INTERESTED IN GREATER COOPERATION WITH EAES - PRESIDENT DODON

Moldova is vitally interested in a more active cooperation with the member countries of the Eurasian Economic Union [of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, EAES] - in all spheres, President Igor Dodon stated in Saint Petersburg (Russia) on Thursday at the Session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, which Moldova attended for the first time ever, though only as an observer.

"We are interested to achieve a higher level of cooperation with the EAES Countries in practically all spheres economy, energy, labor migration etc. Moldova is a decades-traditional producer of a large number of goods that are in high demand in EAES countries. Therefore, all interested sides should necessarily use such an opportunity", stated the President of Moldova.

Igor Dodon said that in 2017 the EAES countries had imported from other countries: 1.6 million tons of apples and pears, including 230 thousand tons from Moldova; 183 thousand tons of vegetables, including only 11 thousand tons from Moldova; 590 thousand tons of apricots, sweet cherries, peaches, plums, including only 56 thousand tons from Moldova;

560 thousand tons of grapes, but merely 60 thousand tons from Moldova.

"An analogous situation is with alcoholic beverages and canned food. A comparative analysis demonstrates the presence of a gigantic potential for increasing the Moldovan exports to EAES markets. This would give a very serious impulse for an economic growth and for creation of hundreds of thousand jobs in Moldova", said the President.

Dodon stressed that Moldova really has things to offer to partners from the Eurasian Economic Union area.

"There are good conditions for the organization of various productions in the Moldovan territory - with subsequent exportation of finished products to countries, with which Moldova has concluded agreements on free trade: the European Union, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Central European Zone of free trade, Turkey. Being a neutral state, Moldova maintains mutually beneficial relations with various countries of the world, but attaches a particular attention to restoration and deepening of cooperation with traditional partners in the former Soviet Union area", stressed President Igor Dodon in his address to the Saint Petersburg forum.