The Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration, Cristina Lesnic, had a meeting today with the World Health Organization Country Representative, Igor Pokanevych, and the Director of the Swiss Cooperation Office in the Republic of Moldova, Caroline Tissot.

The parties discussed celebration of 20 years of activity of the Swiss Cooperation Office in the Republic of Moldova, during which development projects were carried out on local governance and economic development, including grants for beneficiaries from the Transnistrian region through the Confidence Building Measures Program between both banks of the Nistru river.

The activities carried out by the WHO and the Swiss Office in implementing the CBM component were also reviewed. 

Cristina Lesnic thanked for the support offered in building trust bridges between both banks and for the commitment to contribute to the well-being of the inhabitants on both banks of Nistru. Chisinau supports all initiatives aimed at citizens’ welfare within the CBMs, said Ms. Lesnic. 

The Deputy Prime Minister spoke about the current state of the negotiations and expressed concerns regarding deterioration of the human rights situation in the Transnistrian region. At the same time, Cristina Lesnic mentioned that she relies on Switzerland's support to improve the human rights situation and underlined Government's priorities on the human rights component.

Caroline Tissot informed that Switzerland is in the process of elaborating the new Cooperation Strategy with the Republic of Moldova for the next four years. In this context, the Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration expressed her willingness to contribute to identifying the key priorities which will boost confidence in the policies promoted by the Government for the inhabitants of both banks and will contribute to the reintegration of the country.

Representatives of the WHO and the Swiss Cooperation Office assured that they will maintain the efficient cooperation and transparency of the activities carried out in the Transnistrian region.