© KEYSTONE/EDA/PASCAL LAUENER
Switzerland has decided to increase its emergency humanitarian aid for Moldova by 2 million francs. Visiting this country, Ignazio Cassis on Tuesday praised Moldovan solidarity with Ukraine.
The President of the Confederation met his Moldavian counterpart Maia Sandu in Chisinau, the day after his visit to Poland where he notably met Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and visited a center for Ukrainian refugees.
With some 300,000 Ukrainian refugees on its soil since the start of the Russian invasion of its southern neighbour, Moldova is one of the main countries affected by the exodus of civilians.
“As a long-standing partner of Moldova, Switzerland continues to provide its support to this country as well as to Ukraine”, assured Mr. Cassis during his visit to Chisinau, as he said. stated on Twitter.
The additional 2 million francs promised by Switzerland on Tuesday are in addition to the 80 million released by the Federal Council for humanitarian aid in Ukraine and the region, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) said in a press release.
“New Needs”
The Federal Councilor also discussed cooperation with Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita. He promised to help meet the new needs caused by the crisis, both in cooperation projects and in humanitarian aid. Swiss solidarity will be expressed through “pragmatic and non-bureaucratic” aid, the FDFA said.
At a press conference, President Maia Sandu hailed the “historic first” constituted by the visit of the President of the Confederation, a “symbolic” gesture. Switzerland is an “important partner”, she said in Romanian. She spoke of the important needs of her country in various fields and was delighted with the generosity of Switzerland.
The two states maintain good contacts, and Switzerland is one of the most important donor countries. The Swiss embassy having had to be temporarily closed in kyiv because of the war, part of the personnel competent for Ukraine and Moldova is temporarily transferred to Chișinau, underlined Mr. Cassis in front of the media.
On March 7, Switzerland dispatched a 14-strong Swiss Humanitarian Aid Corps (CSA) rapid intervention team to Moldova.
According to the association Moldova For Peace, Moldova is the poorest country in Europe. About a third of the population there lives below the poverty line. The country is particularly engaged in a fight against corruption. Moldavian civil society is strongly mobilized in favor of refugees from Ukraine.