On April 26 Tiraspol hosted international conference “Pridnestrovie towards the Eurasian Integration: Goals, Objectives, and Areas of Cooperation”. Participating in the event were the Chairman of the Supreme Council of the PMR Mikhail Burla, Deputy Chairperson of the Government for International Cooperation, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the PMR Nina Shtanski, representatives of authorities and expert community. Experts from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova participated in the conference among the invited guests.
President of the PMR Yevgeny Shevchuk sent a welcome address to participants of the conference. The President highly praised the value of the Eurasian idea for the upward development of the Republic. According to Yevgeny Shevchuk, “Eurasian integration shall be the best and promising response to the Pridnestrovian crisis and shall be potential groundwork of economic thrust and cultural breakthrough in the development of the state”. Welcoming addresses were also received from Chairman of State Duma Committee for Property, Coordinator of Interfactional Deputy Group on Cooperation with the Supreme Council of the PMR Sergey Gavrilov and Director of Lev Gumilev Centre Pavel Zarifullin.
Speaking at the forum, the Head of the Pridnestrovian Foreign Service Nina Shtanski expressed the view that the Eurasian integration shall be able to meet the crucial problems of Pridnestrovie, and noted the high public support of the policy of the Republic. “Our society expressed no opposition to the idea of Eurasian integration of Pridnestrovie over the past year,” the Minister stressed. A similar view was expressed by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Shornikov. According to him, “Stability of the political system and development direction in Pridnestrovie are supported by the people, and the Eurasian integration shall implement this course”.
The concept of the “Eurasian Region Pridnestrovie” was actively discussed in the course of the conference which is designed to be an instrument for the economic integration of Pridnestrovie in space of the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Having touched in her report features of contemporary regional cooperation, Deputy Director of the Russian Institute of Strategic Research (RISI) Tamara Guzenkova agreed that the geographic factor in Eurasian integration processes may be secondary which means real prospects for Eurasian integration of Pridnestrovie. Vasily Kashirin, a representative of the RISI, also supported this thesis in his speech. “Russian politicians and the expert community increasingly voice an opinion that there is no alternative to the participation of Pridnestrovie in the integration processes in Eurasia,” said the speaker.
During the conference, experts voiced views on cultural, economic and political components of the Eurasian integration of Pridnestrovie; practical mechanisms for its implementation have been proposed.
A resolution was adopted following the conference:
RESOLUTION OF INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIC CONFERENCE
“Pridnestrovie towards the Eurasian Integration: Goals, Objectives, and Areas of Cooperation”
Participants of the International Academic Conference “Pridnestrovie towards the Eurasian Integration: Goals, Objectives, and Areas of Cooperation”, having held comprehensive discussion of processes and prospects of Eurasian integration of Pridnestrovie, note that Eurasian integration and creation of the Eurasian Union shall be a unique opportunity to provide practical conditions for sustained progressive political, economic, social and spiritual development of Pridnestrovians, for arrangement of mechanisms of international cooperation in the vital spheres for Pridnestrovie.
Participants of the Conference stated that Eurasian integration has achieved the status of a national idea, the basic priority of the foreign policy of the Pridnestrovian state. This strategic vector has every reason to be a practical instrument for the comprehensive development of the Pridnestrovian Moldovan Republic, the recipe of peacekeeping, security and stability on the banks of the Dniester, the guarantee for enforcement of rights and freedoms of half a million Pridnestrovians. Having been designed and being implemented now, the “Eurasian Region Pridnestrovie” project could be the background of the “road map” to join Pridnestrovie a common economic space of the future Eurasian Union, the Customs Union.
Prospects of Pridnestrovian integration with Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and in the future with other post-Soviet states is regarded by the members of the Conference as the only optimal solution, which can result in full economic capacity building of Pridnestrovie, in improvement of the investment climate, in modernization of industry and agriculture, in free movement of goods, services and capital within the common Eurasian space.
Offering new opportunities for economic development of Pridnestrovie, Eurasian integrative cooperation will allow Pridnestrovian economic agents become an integral part of a viable Eurasian economic space.
Participants of the Conference are convinced that Pridnestrovie being historically part of Russian World and Russian civilization has both the right and real potential to develop common Eurasian values.
Development of the ongoing “Eurasian Pridnestrovie” Media Centre in Pridnestrovie as a public information and analytical resource and a media platform for expert discussions of the issues which are pressing for people living in Pridnestrovie, Moldova, Ukraine and Russia in the context of emerging Eurasian integration will give additional impetus to the movement of Pridnestrovie towards the Eurasian integration.
Participants of the Conference declare that consistent involvement of Pridnestrovie in the Eurasian integration processes and in the formation of the Eurasian Union may become the practical development strategy of the Republic, which will neutralize the destructive effects of long-term costs on the socio-economic, spiritual and political spheres of Pridnestrovian public life because of the unsettled Moldovan-Pridnestrovian conflict.
April 26, 2013 Tiraspol city
