CHIÅžINĂU, September 19, 2012. The Annual Conference of the Black Sea Basin Joint Operational Program (JOP) 2007-2013 was held in Chișinău for the first time. The event was attended by the North Regional Development Agency Director (North RDA).

North RDA Director, Ion BODRUG, praised the opportunity of organizing such an event in Chisinau, calling it "an important sign for regional development in Moldova”.

Participating in the Joint Operational Program were representatives of the Black Sea Basin countries, European Commission representatives, and project beneficiaries. Representatives of international and regional organizations met at a roundtable to assess program performance and to exchange views on future prospects about creating synergies and partnerships in the Black Sea Basin.

Marcel RĂDUCAN, Minister of Regional Development and Construction, said in the opening message of the event that Moldova is an active participant in various partnerships and regional organizations and the CBC programs were the first European programs that directly benefitted local Moldovan projects funded by the European Commission.

The minister also said that the partnerships created and funded under the program provide a favorable boost of trust between Member States and contribute to the spirit of multilateral cooperation. Moldova's growing interest towards this program and future programming period for the years 2014-2020 is shown by the results of two calls for proposals as well as Moldova hovering in the top 3 countries as funds raised (after Romania and Bulgaria).

Regional cooperation is a priority of the foreign policy of the Republic of Moldova. The country's involvement in activities, processes, and projects of this collaboration are directed towards achieving the main objective - integration into the European Union. European integration is the driving force for reform and development of most countries in the region. From this perspective, regional cooperation is an important and effective mechanism that aims to contribute to the advancement of processes for integration of countries into the Community, to achieving alignment with EU standards, and accession to European freedoms.

Over the past 10 years, Moldova has taken part in regional cooperation processes in Central, South-Eastern, Eastern, and the Black Sea regions of Europe.

♦ MDRC