Romania will remain Moldova's strongest supporter within the European Union, offering its experience as an EU member state alongside political and diplomatic backing, acting Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan said on Thursday after talks with Moldova's new Prime Minister, Vasile Tofan, who is making his first official visit abroad since taking office.

Speaking at a joint press conference at the Victoria Palace, Bolojan thanked Tofan for choosing Romania for his first official foreign visit.

'It is a symbolic gesture that once again confirms the special nature of the relationship between Romania and the Republic of Moldova. (...) Romania's support for the Republic of Moldova remains unwavering, and I assured him of this. Our discussions focused on the bilateral cooperation agenda. We have projects in areas such as energy, transport, education, culture and the environment, as well as joint initiatives that we must bring to completion. Everything we do together is intended to improve the lives of our citizens, encourage economic development, investment and bilateral trade, and bring the Republic of Moldova closer to the European Union,' Bolojan said.

He stressed that the most important shared strategic objective remains the Republic of Moldova's European integration.

'Romania will continue to be the Republic of Moldova's main supporter within the European Union, making available the experience it has gained as a member state and providing political and diplomatic support. The Republic of Moldova has already achieved very good results in this process with the opening of accession negotiations on Cluster 1 - Fundamentals and Cluster 6 - External Relations. We hope that, by the end of this year, the European Union will take the political decisions needed to open negotiations on the remaining four clusters,' Bolojan said.

According to the acting prime minister, the talks also reviewed progress on joint projects, with particular emphasis on transport and energy interconnections. He said experts from Bucharest and Chisinau are coordinating efforts to address the challenges created by the current security environment.

'We are facing crises in both the electricity and fuel sectors. We discussed the construction of two new 400-kilovolt interconnection lines, Suceava-Balti and Gutinas-Straseni. Earlier this spring, the Romanian government approved the designation of the section on Romania's territory as a project of national importance for the electricity transmission network,' Bolojan said.

On transport infrastructure, he said work on the Ungheni bridge linking Moldova to Romania is due to be completed by the end of the year.

'The works will be completed by the end of this year. In this regard, we welcome the signing on July 2 of the bilateral agreement on the Ungheni connection, a necessary step towards completing the project. As you know, Romania secured significant funding through the SAFE programme to connect the bridge to the A8 motorway, while the project also includes infrastructure works in the Republic of Moldova, including its first motorway segment built to European standards,' he added.

Bolojan also highlighted progress on rail infrastructure.

'In April, the Falciu-Cantemir railway line was tested. As you know, traffic on this route had been completely suspended for the past 17 years. Reopening this connection restores an important cross-border rail link between Romania and the Republic of Moldova,' he said.

The acting prime minister said the discussions also covered regional and international developments, marked by major security challenges arising from Russia's aggression against Ukraine.

'We share the same assessment of the hostile actions of the Russian Federation and their impact on neighbouring states. Among other things, I refer to the repeated violations of Romania's airspace in recent times. Similar incidents have also been recorded in the Republic of Moldova. We strongly condemn Russia's continued aggression against Ukraine, as well as any violations of our countries' airspace or maritime space,' Bolojan said.

He also expressed Romania's support for the Moldovan authorities' approach to the Transnistrian region.

'We also discussed the situation in Moldova's Transnistrian region. We appreciate and fully support the pragmatic approach promoted by the authorities in Chisinau regarding the reintegration process,' Bolojan said.

The acting prime minister congratulated Vasile Tofan, noting that after a successful career in international business, he had accepted the responsibility of serving as Moldova's prime minister.

'It is a responsibility which, as you know, is not an easy one for any prime minister, either in Romania or in the Republic of Moldova,' Bolojan added. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Daniel Florea; EN - writing by: Simona Iacob)