Moldovan PM Meets Participants at Limmud FSU

Prime Minister Vlad Filat of Moldova met today with a group of participants from the Limmud FSU conference, held for the first time ever in Chisinau.

The delegation was led by Matthew Bronfman, the chairman of the International Steering Committee of Limmud FSU. Bronfman was accompanied by Chaim Chesler, the founder of Limmud FSU; Yoram Dori, senior Advisor to the President of Israel; and Dr. Maram Stern, deputy secretary general of the World Jewish Congress. Also in attendance were local business and Jewish community leaders.

At the beginning of the meeting, Matthew Bronfman said that yesterday he visited Ataki and Soroki, the birthplaces of his grandparents, in northern Moldova.

In his remarks, Bronfman advocated for the development of economic ties with Moldova, expressing willingness to launch various investment projects in Moldova.

For his part, Yoram Dori expressed gratitude to the Moldovan authorities on behalf of President Shimon Peres, for their support and solidarity displayed in the relations with Israel in the international arena saying, “Shimon Peres expresses his regret over the fact that he did not manage to meet you during your visit to Israel, as he was recovering following a surgery. At the same time, he conveys his sincerest greetings and reiterates Israel’s willingness to boost bilateral cooperation and to support Moldova on its multilateral development path.”

Prime Minister Vlad Filat highlighted the need to deepen the Moldovan-Israeli relations and expressed hope that his visit to Israel along with other planned events will increase the bilateral cooperation and mutual support on the international arena.

“For twenty years now, since the establishment of the diplomatic ties between Moldova and Israel, the relations between our countries have been based on friendship and cooperation principles. The time is ripe to shift to a new stage in bilateral relations, a pragmatic one, which would be based on fostering collaboration, namely on the economic field.”

The prime minister advocated the promotion of investments and new joint projects with Israeli partners, noting that may public-private partnerships in different fields, such as infrastructure, energy, informational technologies, health and education, are to be launched.

The prime minister also said that the Moldovan government is open for further cooperation, expressing hope that the participants in the Limmud FSU conference would be interested in continuing the conversations initiated during their current visit.

The Limmud FSU conference, currently being held in Chisinau, is bringing together over 400 young Jewish adults from Moldova and the southern region of Ukraine.

See also Matthew Bronfman Visits His Roots