Estonia is a good example for Republic of Moldova to believe that a post-Soviet country can become an European one. The declaration was made by PM Pavel Filip, during a press conference with his counterpart from Estonia, Juri Ratas, who is visiting Chisinau.

Pavel Filip mentioned the key subjects the two officials spoke of, among them counting the bilateral relations between Republic of Moldova and Estonia, regional challenges, as well as Republic of Moldova's European path.

"I have congratulated Prime Minister with the 100th anniversary since Estonia declared independence, period in which a modern and democratic state was build, an European state. Which we also wish for Republic of Moldova and Estonia's example made us believe that Moldova can become an European country. We spoke of certain developments and the sectors where more work can be done, by gaining the experience of our Estonian partners" Pavel Filip said.

Prime Minister Filip expressed his gratitude toward Estonia and its citizens for the offered assistance in developing multiple sectors from Moldova.

"Last year, companies from Republic of Moldova received assistance from Estonia to take part in a food expo. It resulted in an important company from Moldova gaining the chance to export products to Estonia. At the same time, students from Moldova can receive scholarships in educational institutions from this country. Public servants are trained at the Estonian diplomatic school, while Moldovan soldiers are trained at the Baltic Defense College. For 2018, the amount invested by Estonia in bilateral projects reached nearly 1 million Euro. This is happening for the fourth year in a row. Those are money invested in rural development, health, democracy, as well as good governance. Those money are invested in Moldova's European future and I wish to say thank you to the Prime Minister because Republic of Moldova is among the prioritized countries to receive financing from Estonia" Pavel Filip declared.

"We also spoke of the way our countries develop and understood that in certain areas we have the same views. We also wish for Republic of Moldova to cease having an economic model based on gross labor and gain an economic model based on growth and development, to invest in innovations and technologies as Estonia does, as well as in people.

We appreciate the contribution of the Estonian e-government Academy in the development of electronic systems. [...] For the economy and the Government, the IT sector is a priority and I believe that here, more work must be done, as it is the country's future. We remain open to possible deeper and more consistent discussions, separate from the development of this sector" PM Pavel Filip declared.

At the same tome, Pavel Filip spoke with his counterpart of the reforms initiated by Chisinau's Government:

"We also spoke of the relations between EU and Republic of Moldova. We spoke of the Association Agreement's implementation, of the Government's reform agenda, especially since we saw that last year, Estonia also promoted similar reforms: pension reform, administrative reform, tax system reform. Here, we spoke of the actions taken to efficiently manage the assistance offered to Republic of Moldova, especially since we have much to learn. The rate of absorption of European funds in Estonia is higher than the average in the European Union" Pavel Filip said.

Another subject the two Prime Ministers spoke of is the regional threats and security. Pavel Filip expressed his gratitude to Juri Ratas for the support offered in regulating the conflict with Transnistria, especially because Estonia is co-author of the draft forwarded by Republic of Moldova to the UN on the withdrawal of Russian troops from Moldova's territories.

"I spoke of Transnistria. I wish to thank Estonia and Mr. Prime Minister for the offered support in this area. We spoke of latest progresses in solving the problem with Transnistria, as well as the encountered issues. Here, an important aspect for us is that Estonia did not only back Republic of Moldova in the UN on the Russian troops withdrawal from Moldova, but is also a co-author of the forwarded draft. We felt Estonia's support not only within this project, but also through the attention offered to Moldova when Estonia had the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2017. At the time also took place the Eastern Partnership summit and we received the tranches" Pavel Filip declared.