On Thursday, 14 March, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna met with Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Moldova Mihai Popșoi who arrived in Kyiv on a working visit.

The Deputy Prime Minister and her Moldovan counterpart welcomed the presentation by the European Commission on 12 March of draft negotiation frameworks for Ukraine and Moldova, noting the importance of active work with EU member states to approve it and hold the first intergovernmental conference.

The participants of the meeting discussed in detail the reform agenda on the European integration path, the challenges along the way, and opportunities for mutual reinforcement. In particular, they talked about achieving the rule of law criteria, public administration reform, decentralisation, and the creation of anti-corruption institutions. Mihai Popșoi told about the transformation processes that his country's judicial system was currently undergoing. Olha Stefanyshyna, for her part, suggested organising a regular exchange of experience and professional support.

"Ukraine has extensive political and practical experience, particularly in the areas of judicial reform, anti-corruption and the rule of law. It is both about creating a legal framework and implementing it. We will be happy to establish a regular exchange of experience, lessons learnt and expertise between representatives of our countries in various fields. The paths of Ukraine and Moldova to the EU have been linked, and we do not see any competition here, but rather appreciate our cooperation to achieve a common goal - EU membership," Olha Stefanishyna said.

In this context, Minister Mihai Popșoi noted that, while developing a governmental mechanism for coordinating European integration, Moldova had become familiar with the activities of the relevant structures in Ukraine.

He assured that Moldova would remain a reliable and trustworthy partner of Ukraine, fully supporting our country in its response to russian aggression.