On September 5, an online-meeting of the political representatives from Pridnestrovie and Moldova, Vitaly Ignatiev and Oleg Serebrian, with the participation of expert (working) groups on health issues took place.
The meeting focused on the issue of importing medicines to Pridnestrovie. Vitaly Ignatiev reminded of the mechanism developed by the relevant experts of the sides to unblock the import of medicines included in the Pridnestrovian list of vital and socially important medicines into the PMR.
The Minister noted that throughout the spring the experts of the parties actively cooperated on verifying the list of medicines, indispensable for ensuring medication safety in Pridnestrovie. This list was officially sent to the Moldovan Side on May 11, but it has been delaying the solution of this issue for five months to date.
In their turn, the representatives of the Republic of Moldova again failed to specify a deadline for implementing the mechanism. The Moldovan side tried to evade its obligations, claiming the absence of the problem as such.
In this regard, Vitaly Ignatiev pointed to a number of aggravating problems in the sphere of PMR medication safety, including the strong dynamics of declining medication imports since March this year and the lack of objective possibilities to replace the missing medications. Separately, he addressed the difficulties faced by Pridnestrovian pharmaceutical companies in importing medicines through the Moldovan border, urging the Moldovan Side to minimize administrative and bureaucratic barriers.
The PMR Foreign Minister demanded to start implementing the draft decision agreed upon at the level of expert groups regarding the import of medicines to the PMR within the shortest possible time.
“The most important task today is to determine and implement the model developed by the experts. I repeat, this was done jointly, with the consent and active participation by representatives of Moldova. It is necessary for this work to be completed by a positive practical solution – by implementing the list of vital medicines, which would help remove tension and eliminate the deficit in Pridnestrovie. I hope for an understanding of the purely humanitarian nature of the problem,” said the Minister.
The Pridnestrovian Side also confirmed its willingness to work on a long-term solution of the problem by signing a relevant Protocol Decision.
The Sides agreed to hold the next meeting in person by the end of this month.
