The deputy prime minister Gheorghe Balan had today a meeting with Her Excellency Christine Freilinger, the ambassador of Austria to Moldova, who was accompanied by the Attache of the Embassy for Labor, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection Gero Stuller.

With this occasion, the deputy prime minister wished success to Mrs. Freilinger in the period of her mandate, expressing his belief that the recent launching of the activity of the Austrian diplomatic mission in Chisinau means a new stage in the Moldovan-Austrian relations, which will contribute to the strengthening and diversification of the communication between the countries.

Gheorghe Balan appreciated the positive dynamics of the bilateral contacts, at the same time expressing his gratitude to the Austrian Government for the assistance offered to Moldova through various projects in important fields like good governing, strengthening of institutional capacities, professional technical vocational education, infrastructure etc.

The discussion was centered mostly on the Transnistrian problem. The deputy prime minister welcomed the naming of ambassador Wolf Dietrich Heim as Special Representative for the process of Transnistrian Regulation within the Austrian Presidency in OSCE for 2017 and at the same time referred to the situation which is shown during the negotiation process, the last evolutions within the existing dialogue platforms, the perspectives of the dialogue and the results.

The Ambassador was informed of the actions taken by the Moldovan authorities in order to advance the negotiations, the Government's priorities on the Transnistrian region, ambitious reforms and commitment to support the people of eastern districts by expanding throughout the country the unique implementation of projects which will contribute to economic and social development of the region.

In the same context, the deputy prime minister mentioned the role of international actors involved in the regulatory process and the impact of assistance programs made by development partners on the promotion of confidence-building measures.

At the end of the meeting, Christine Freilinger assured that Moldova can still count on Austria's support in promoting started reforms, thanking for the consistent dialogue and expressing readiness for cooperation in the future.