The conference „NATO Partnerships: achievements and prospects”
The International Conference „ NATO Partnerships: achievements and prospects” was held on the May 14th. The event was organized by the Information and Documentation Centre of NATO in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Moldova. The conference was attended by Mr. Alexander Vershbow, NATO Deputy Secretary General, ambassadors and diplomatic representatives of NATO member and partners states, government officials, local and foreign experts as well as academics.
The conference had two sessions. The first one started with the introduction speech of the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affaires and European Integration, Valeriu Chiperi and continued with Mr. Vershbow’s speech about the evolution of the relationship between Moldova and NATO within the framework of the Partnership for Peace. Mr. Alexander Vershbow was mainly concerned about the need to strengthen the partnerships in the light of the recent changes on the international arena. Deputy Secretary mentioned the importance the partnerships in the process of strengthening the security architecture in Europe after the end of the Cold War and also the importance of the partnership that NATO has with Russia, which the Alliance is forced now to relinguish because of the Russian aggression in Ukraine.
The second part of the conference was held in the form of disscusions and debates between academics, representatives of the diplomatic missions acredited in Chişinău, local and foreign experts, civil society, etc. There were a number of presentations regarding the PfP, including those of H.E. Mr. Ambassador of Bulgaria – Petar Valov, H.E. Mr. Ambassador of Sweden – Ingrid Tersman, H.S. Mr. Ambassador of Turkey – Mehmet Selim Kartal, H.E. Mr. Mihai Gribincea – Moldovan Ambassador to Belgium, Alexander Ciumbriciuc – Vice President of the Parliamentary Comitee on National Security, Defence and Public Order, Octavian Ţîcu –lecturer at FIUM and Vasile Croitoru – a „Politicon” exper. The discussions were moderated by Viorel Cibotaru, Director of the European Institute for Political Studies of Moldova.