By H.E. Ms. Tatiana Pârvu, Ambassador of the Republic of Moldova to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
I have joined the Diplomatic Corps in the Netherlands in June last year when I presented my Credentials as Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands and later in autumn as Permanent Representative of the Republic of Moldova to the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
Our Embassy was established less than a decade ago with the objectives to promote bilateral relations with the host country as well as multilateral cooperation with multiple international organizations sitting in the Netherlands. I am honoured to have joined our small team of the mission and represent my country in the beautiful city of The Hague with vibrant international community.
In 2019 we celebrate the 27th anniversary since the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries, which coincides with the period when I started my career within the Diplomatic Service of my country. Throughout this period, we enjoyed an increase of political dialogue and economic cooperation, people to people contacts and there is still room for improvement. Hence making Moldova better known is one of my goals as Ambassador to the Netherlands.
The national institutions of my country benefited from several important assistance projects offered by Dutch government in a variety of fields, such as the training of young diplomats, sharing knowledge and expertise in agriculture, justice and rule of law, banking and finance, etc.
A country with an intense business presence in many parts of the world, social innovations and creative industries, advanced education system and many achievements. We could learn a lot from the Netherlands.
Republic of Moldova is a small country in the South Eastern part of Europe with rich historical and cultural heritage. With a population of around 4 million inhabitants, it is home to many nationalities with diverse religious, cultural and culinary traditions. Whoever visits my country will discover genuine hospitality and welcoming people. Traditional homes in Moldova were always built with a special room called “Casa Mare” (big room) where guests are treated with homemade wine and authentic cuisine.
We witness lately an impressive revival of our national costumes and folk customs, many of which are part of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. Carpets in Moldova are regarded works of art, symbol of national identity deeply rooted to cultural legacy. The carpet weaving technique from the Republic of Moldova and România is also being enlisted by UNESCO Cultural Heritage.
Making wine in our region is a long-standing tradition dating from ancient times. There is a large diversity of good quality wines with fascinating wine cellars to visit. For instance, the wine cellars of “Mileștii Mici” company were registered in the Guinness Book of Records as having the biggest wine collections in the world with around 2 million bottles. “Cricova” wine cellars are also known for their huge labyrinths with total surface of 120 km reaching up to 80 m underground.
It is not by accident that all traditions are found intrinsically in our motto, Moldova: “Discover the routes of life”.
In five years, period since the signature of Association Agreement and DCFTA with European Union, the Republic of Moldova has witnessed an extraordinary business and economic advancement in terms of diversification but also increasing the production standards. Our wines, agricultural and other products have reached the EU market, 69% being exported to the European countries, including to the Netherlands. Since 2014 our citizens can travel freely without visa within Schengen area.
Identifying itself with European family, our government has set up an ambitious agenda of reforms in line with national objective of European integration. Taking the business environment alone, several unprecedented actions have been taken which led to increase of jobs availability, the promotion of open economic policy, strengthening of legal framework and reform of national institutions, reducing red tape and state control burden, offering attractive incentives for foreign investors and growing business.
One of the attractive features for foreign investment is the opportunity offered by the Free Economic zones, Industrial Parks and IT Parks. Moldova is among the leading countries with the highest internet speed having high IT potential. The IT hub “Tekwill” based Chișinău, the country’s capital, comprises a hundred of resident companies with a turnout of over half a billion euro.
Overall the Republic of Moldova has succeeded a lot in a relatively short period of time being ranked according to Doing Business report at the 47th position out of 190 analysed economies.
Together with my small team of the embassy I encourage foreign investors as well all those who want to see another beautiful place in Europe to put Moldova on top of their priorities list.
