On July 9, 2008, Mr. Andrei Stratan, Deputy Prime-minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration had a meeting with Mr. Knut Vollebaek, OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, who pays a visit to the Republic of Moldova on July 8—11.
During the meeting Mr. A. Stratan appreciated the interest shown by OSCE High Commissioner for the situation in the Republic of Moldova, as well as support offered for integration of national minorities in society. Mr. K. Vollebaek pointed out the readiness of his Office to offer this support further on, inclusively through the implementation of projects on the evaluation of ethnic minorities’ situation and on teaching the Moldovan language to civil servants in Southern and Northern regions of the country.
In the context of country’s reintegration efforts, the head of Moldovan diplomacy briefed his interlocutor on the process of Transnistrian conflict settlement. The Minister mentioned the worries of Moldovan Government regarding Moldovan schools and studying state language in the region. In this sense, the possibilities of assistance from the Office of High Commissioner on National Minorities were discussed, in particular with the view of realization of confidence building measures between the two banks of Nistru River.
During the dialogue, the parties referred to the Statement and Recommendations on national minorities in inter-state relations presented at OSCE Permanent Council on July 26, 2008. The Office of High Commissioner is going to organize an international academic conference on this document this autumn, followed by a number of regional seminars and a regional meeting next spring.
Reflecting on the information presented by Mr. A. Stratan on the future of EU – Moldova relations, Mr. K. Vollebaek welcomed the efforts made by Moldovan authorities for the European integration and the reintegration of society. He reiterated that his Office is ready to facilitate exchange of experience with other countries in the field of multilingual educational system.
