Estonian agriculture minister opens cooperation project of 3 countries in Moldova

TALLINN - Estonian Minister of Regional Affairs and Agriculture Hendrik Johannes announced a twinning project between Estonia, the Netherlands and Moldova as part of his visit to Moldova this week.

Terras emphasized that in the current international situation, cooperation between the member states of the European Union and the candidate countries aspiring to join is important for both sides, ministry spokespeople said.

At a bilateral meeting with his Moldovan counterpart Ludmila Catlabuga, Terras expressed satisfaction that the long-standing cooperation between the two countries has been supplemented with a new project, which will create new development opportunities for both Moldova and Estonia.

"I wish you success in the European Union integration process, which our country began almost 30 years ago. I believe that we have a lot of knowledge and experience to exchange, and fortunately, there will be further opportunities for cooperation in the future, especially within the framework of European Union projects," the minister added.

The Estonian-Dutch-Moldovan twinning project focuses on monitoring, data management and strengthening payment administration in the agricultural and food sector. The two-year project is funded by the European Union and will involve training Moldovan partners by experts from the Estonian ministry, the Center of Estonian Rural Research and Knowledge and the agricultural registers and information agency PRIA in cooperation with experts from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. The Moldovan partner is the country's Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry.

At the project's opening event, the minister said that this is a very special moment for Estonia.

"This is the first time that Estonia has led an agriculture-related twinning project as a partner. Joining the European Union has been a topic very close to the heart of every Estonian, having required a lot of effort and dedication. Today, we are very satisfied with what we have achieved. I hope that one day you will have the opportunity to experience the same feeling and I thank you for the opportunity to do this project together. We have seen great commitment from our Moldovan colleagues and I am sure that we can achieve a lot more together," he added.

Estonia's relations with Moldova are close and good, as confirmed by frequent bilateral visits. Moldova is a priority country for Estonian development cooperation, including in the areas of e-governance, the rule of law, education and regional development.