Dear Ion, I would like to start our interview with an open question. Over the past few years, the Agency has been working hard both to attract foreign investors and to promote Moldovan exports and tourism offers. In the near future, it seems that the Agency is going to be reorganized. Tourism is already under the Ministry of Culture. How has the Invest Moldova Agency changed its plans for this autumn?

The decisive factor remains, of course, the pandemic and its dynamics. Apart from that, no other adjustments are planned. After all, investment study visits and international exhibitions are planned in advance, so the Agency has already set its program for the rest of the year. Perhaps, we might even raise the Turkish flag in September. 

The Turkish flag?

In September there are many events related to our Turkish partners, both at private business and state visit levels. Earlier this month, representatives of Durukan Confectionery visited the Republic of Moldova. It is a large Turkish confectionery producer, whose production history dates back to 1992. Durukan plans to open a factory in Eastern Europe, which will provide 500 workplaces. The choice currently falls between Moldova and Ukraine. We went with Durukan representatives to the north of Moldova, to Soroca. We are very attractive because of our proximity to Südzucker's production facility, as sugar is the main raw material for Durukan's production.

However, as far as I understand, these are not the only Turkish guests in the Agency's program for September?

On 15-17 September we are expecting another potential Turkish investor from the medical sector, specifically from the medical equipment sector. For the time being, I will not reveal more details, but I would like to point out that this "concentration" of Turkish investments is the result of the Moldovan-Turkish Investment Forum organized by the Invest Moldova Agency on 2-5 June, with the participation of 29 Turkish companies. As a result of this Forum, contracts for the export of sunflower seeds worth 35 million euros were signed and a contract for the delivery of sunflower oil worth more than 30 million euros is being negotiated.

The cherry on the cake is that a bilateral meeting at the state level is already planned for the last decade of September. Turkey's vice-minister of culture and tourism is coming to Moldova for a meeting with the Moldovan minister of culture. The Turkish delegation will include several famous Turkish bloggers and representatives of Turkish companies involved in foreign tourism. We have planned a three-day info tour for the guests as well as a special itinerary aimed at the Turkish consumer. I believe there will be more B2B meetings between Turkish and Moldovan tour operators. MICE tourism will also be discussed.

What about exhibitions and conferences?

Certainly, we will promote Moldova as a potential conference host. Since Chisinau is only an hour's flight from Istanbul, the organization and logistics of such events in Moldova are very attractive for Turkey.

It is indeed a month dedicated to Turkey exclusively.

Not only that. On 30 September, our traditional online event - Export Morning[1], dedicated to the Turkish market, will take place with the participation of the Moldovan Ambassador in Turkey and the Ambassador of Turkey in the Republic of Moldova. 

September is proving to be a very busy month...

Especially if we take into account the Real Estate Forum organized for the first time in Moldova. This can be considered an indicator of the positive reaction of foreign investors to the political changes in Moldova.

I intend to conduct a conclusive interview on the results of the Real Estate Forum with Igor Stefaneț, an employee of the Agency, who was directly responsible for the organization of the Forum. Though, I am also curious to know your opinion: how do you evaluate the results of the Forum?

The results are promising and already outline an action plan. In addition, Moldova ranks quite well in the global ranking on the ease of doing business. In terms of ease of setting up a company, we are ranked 13th in the world, which is an excellent indicator. At the same time, the construction-related indicators need to be seriously improved. When it comes to issuing building permits, we are in 133rd place, when it comes to electricity connection we are in 60th place, and for sewage systems, we are in 40th place. For an investor planning to build in Moldova, these indicators are even more important than the ease of setting up a company.

Hence, we talked about plans for September. What else does the Agency have planned for the autumn?

Autumn is the time of the year when the world's most important trade fairs and exhibitions take place, both in terms of attracting investment and promoting exports. Our country stand is planned to participate in about 20 exhibitions in Italy, Germany, Spain, Czech Republic, Russian Federation, Romania, and Ukraine. We support financially the participation of producers and members of the largest sectoral associations such as Moldova Fruct and ATIC.

Are you planning anything special?

At the moment, in addition to the tools and platforms we implement year after year, we are pleased with the results of the Export Mission Program, developed in partnership with the World Bank's CEP II program.

60 companies from 5 strategic sectors (fresh fruit, furniture, electronics, winemaking, food, non-alcoholic beverages) participated in the pilot program and had export missions to 8 countries (Germany, Latvia, Romania, Lithuania, Sweden, Estonia, Norway, Finland).

435 meetings were organized during the 6 missions. On average, each company had 7 meetings. At least 10% of all companies participating in the export missions have committed to a new sale within 6 months. You have already met in the previous interview one of the beneficiaries of this program - Eduard Țisari, owner of the furniture factory EDKA, who reported on the effectiveness of this program.

One last question. I am preparing an informative program for the Moldovan business community and I was recommended to present it at the Moldova Business Week. Is the event planned for 2021? Has the pandemic not altered your plans?

So far, Moldova Business Week is scheduled for 18-19 November. This year, as well as the last year, if Moldova Business Week takes place, it will be organized in a "hybrid" format, in the form of an online broadcast of the speakers. But given some factors, we would like to suggest to the Government to postpone Moldova Business Week to May 2022. It is quite possible that, given the dynamics of the pandemic, the event will be held in May 2022 in its usual format. After all, such meetings are much more effective in an offline format.