On Friday, April 4th, a public lecture on the subject “20 years of Moldova-NATO Partnership”, was held at the HQ of the Information and Documentation Center on NATO from Republic of Moldova . The event brought together public officials and post-graduate researchers in the national security field.

The lecture was opened by Mrs. Mârzac Elena, Executive Director of the CID NATO. In her speech, Mrs. Mârzac mentioned that on April 4, 2014 NATO marks 65 years of activity. In the same context, she remarked that the year 2014 is one of great importance for NATO, as it marks several milestones related to NATO’s activity. Such is the 20th anniversary of the Partnership for Peace program and the 15th anniversary of the largest extension of NATO.

The event was moderated by Ms. Patricia Zghibarţa, Program Director of the CID NATO; she conducted a brief presentation of the Partnership for Peace, explaining the way Moldova cooperates with NATO. In this context, Miss Zghibarţa addressed the questions of the participants related to the results of cooperation with the North Atlantic Alliance and the prospects of this partnership.

The participants expressed a particular interest towards how Moldova can benefit from the support of NATO in the security and defense sector. Also, the participants discussed Moldova’s neutral status, and also its potential status as a NATO partner and the advantages /disadvantages related to it.

The organization of this public lecture was dictated by the need to discuss the cooperation between Moldova and NATO , especially at 20 years after launching the Partnership for Peace.atus as a NATO partner and the advantages /disadvantages related to it.