As the first event of the “Promoting Moldova’s EU Aspirations” project, a conference and roundtable-discussion was held at the Ministry of Defence of Moldova on November 16, with the participation of over 60 representatives of the relevant authorities, the diplomatic corps accredited in Chisinau, experts, local civil society organizations and the media. The event aimed to put an international framework for the ongoing work on the National Military Strategy (NMS), the adopted National Security Strategy (NSS) and the necessary reforms in defence planning.
The conference was opened with the remarks of H.E. Vitalie Marinuta, Minister of Defence of Moldova and Prof. Dr. István Gyarmati, President of the Centre for Democracy Public Foundation. An international framework for security strategies and some examples of existing national security strategies were introduced by Ambassador of Bulgaria and Head of NATO Contact Point Embassy Dr. Georgi Panayotov and Ambassador of Ukraine Serghii Pyrozhkov, also outlining the country's agenda for the OSCE Chairmanship in 2013. In his speech, Amb. Gyarmati described the consequences of the change in the international security structure as a new environment for developing and implementing strategic documents.
In the second panel, Ioan Mircea Pascu, former Minister of Defence of Romania and Vice Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament, Brig. Gen. Reinhard Trischak, Director of Military Policy Division of the Ministry of Defence of Austria and Mr. Marian Majer, Senior Research Fellow of the Center for European and North Atlantic Affairs (CENAA) and former Policy Director of the Slovakian Defence Ministry gave a general overview of national military strategies in times of austerity and reviewed the draft Moldovan National Military Strategy published for public consultation.
The basic principles of the Moldovan National Military Strategy, the evolution of security policy and the military reform process was presented by Mr. Alexandru Cimbriciuc, Vice Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, Defence and Public Order and Lt. Col. Vlad Ababii, Head of Directorate of Defence Policy and Planning of the Ministry of Defence.
The conference was the first stage of a series of events aiming to assist the Moldovan government and decision-makers in reviewing and preparing strategic documents and developing reforms in the defence and internal affairs sectors, as part of the ongoing process of modernization in these fields. Further workshops, conferences, and roundtable-discussions will be organized the upcoming months in Moldova, involving all stakeholders and parties concerned.
A report of the event and further pictures are available on the website of the Moldovan Ministry of Defence.
