President Yevgeny Shevchuk took part in the expanded session of the collegium of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PMR. The meeting summed up the results of activities of the Foreign Ministry for 2015, as well as defined goals and objectives for the near future.
During his speech the head of state made a positive assessment of the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Yevgeny Shevchuk also congratulated the Pridnestrovian diplomats and veterans of the department on their professional holiday.
Yevgeny Shevchuk: “Dear representatives of state authorities, diplomats, guests! As you know, diplomacy is an art to settle disagreements by peaceful means. The policy of Pridnestrovian state is just based on the settlement of disagreements by peaceful means, through negotiations. The efforts of all of the bodies of state authorities which are involved in varying degrees in implementation of the foreign policy course of Pridnestrovie are aimed at it.”
The results of negotiations are largely predetermined by the art of diplomats involved in the negotiations. More than 25 agreements have been signed since 2012. The agreements cover a different range of areas, including freedom of movement of people, goods, economic problems.
I want to expand on the effectiveness of certain agreements. Thus, the Protocol decision “On the principles of resumption of a full-scale freight railway communication through the territory of Pridnestrovie”, although adjusted unilaterally by Moldova and Ukraine since January 1, 2016, for the period of its operation resulted in savings of more than 10 million dollars for Pridnestrovian enterprises. It's a pretty significant amount. Moreover, the State Unitary Enterprise “Pridnestrovian Railway” was able at that time to operate from its own income, without receiving state support. There was a situation before where the SUE “Pridnestrovian Railway” was even subsidized from the budget in order to support the railway workers, to pay them salaries.
The Minutes of the meeting of Permanent Conference on political issues, where it was stipulated that Pridnestrovie and Moldova were equal parties in the negotiation process, is a system-forming document. This was done for the first time in that format. Such an approach is a major contribution to ensuring a constructive, mutually acceptable and mutually beneficial dialogue in the framework of any negotiations.
I would also like to note the Protocol statement on the results of the meeting of expert groups of February 19, 2014. Pridnestrovian diplomats managed to convince partners of the Republic of Moldova to cancel the discriminatory excise tax previously imposed unilaterally by the Moldovan authorities. The decision was subsequently supported by the decision of the RM Parliament. Since 2014 economic agents of the PMR have avoided additional expenses by approximately 2.5 million dollars.
An agreement was concluded on the Compulsory insurance of the civil liability of vehicle owners, which aims at protecting the interests of Pridnestrovian citizens. Under conditions existed before Pridnestrovian citizens even with Moldovan insurance were deprived of their right to judicial protection of their interests, when an insured event occurs in the territory of the Republic of Moldova. It turned out that the Moldovan insurance for Pridnestrovian vehicles was simply a document that provides only the right to enter the RM. There were a large number of complaints on that matter, appeals from Pridnestrovian citizens to the President, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. An intermediate formula was found, in accordance with which the agreement was concluded. Part of the economic field was back in Pridnestrovie: from 1 March to 31 December 2015 the sum of tax payments in income of the republic amounted to about 760 thousand rubles. Insurance payments are being made, Moldovan partners entered into agreements with insurance companies, mechanism for ensuring the freedom of movement of citizens is being established.
In addition, the efforts of diplomats managed to reach a compromise, resolved the issue of movement by the Pridnestrovian citizens across the border of Moldova. In the Protocol decision “On some aspects of the freedom of movement of people” of February 27, 2014 the Moldovan side made a commitment not to limit the movement of Pridnestrovians through Kishinev airport upon confirmation of the fact of living in Pridnestrovie.
Cooperation between Pridnestrovie and the Russian Federation has moved to a qualitatively new level. With the support of Deputy Prime Minister, Special Representative of the President of Russia Dmitry Rogozin, the RF Ministry, with the work of the Foreign Minister of the PMR 16 interdepartmental memoranda have been signed for the first time, which resolved a whole group of problems. A number of projects are being implemented under these memoranda. Among them there is a project that allows to receive Russian pensions by Russian citizens residing in the territory of Pridnestrovie. A memorandum signed between the ministries of education of our states is an important document. Due to the agreement a large-scale project for the replacement of textbooks was implemented in the PMR by the Office of the Special Representative of the President of the RF for Pridnestrovie.
The work on restoration of contacts with the regions of the Russian Federation is developing. We have agreements with a number of Russian entities, for example with the leadership of the Arkhangelsk Oblast.
Finding a compromise on the issue related to the conduct of foreign trade activities of Pridnestrovian enterprises with the European Union has been the success of the Pridnestrovian diplomacy. All participants of the “5+2” negotiation format, where the PMR’s Foreign Ministry played one of the system-forming roles, made considerable efforts to ensure that the situation on trade with the European Union would not follow the negative scenario from January 1, 2016.
All this work was accompanied by a number of negative factors that impacted Pridnestrovie for the first time. This is above all the high instability in terms of the political processes in the Republic of Moldova. This has never happened that for four years there has been a change of five prime ministers of the RM, the entire teams, including those officials who work in the direction of Pridnestrovie. This makes the work of employees of the PMR Foreign Ministry difficult to a certain extent.
The two-year situation in Ukraine also adversely affects the climate in negotiations. It is a guarantor country, with which we have close historical, economic ties, transit of our goods is carried out through this territory to a greater extent, Ukraine’s representatives are members of the JCC. We have faced for the first time with the fact that for a long period there was not even an official representative from Ukraine in the “5+2” negotiation format. There were serious risks and fears in late 2014, in early 2015. People were worried that a significant number of additional military forces of Ukraine were concentrated on the border of Pridnestrovie, firing points were set up, trenches were dug, there were statements about the need to “unfreeze” the Pridnestrovian conflict. This predetermined the need that the state apparatus and the PMR Foreign Ministry in particular to exercise due restraint.”
As part of the expanded session of the Foreign Ministry collegium the President noted the efficiency of the ministry, in the conditions of a significant reduction in expenditure and in the number of personnel of the department. Thus, more than 10 million rubles were spent for the maintenance of the Foreign Ministry in 2011 together with representative offices, and in 2015 - about 6 million rubles. If in 2011 the actual number of employees in the ministry amounted to 78 people, today - 57 people, taking into account the members of the representative offices in the Republic of Abkhazia and the Republic of South Ossetia.
The PMR Foreign Ministry’s expenditure on representative offices abroad was significantly reduced, which were financed from the state budget. In particular, for four years - from 2011 to 2015 - the sum of funds spent for these needs decreased from 2 million 800 thousand rubles to 350 thousand rubles.... At the same time, the President stressed the importance of that direction of department activities, set before the leadership of the Foreign Ministry of the PMR a task to consider the possibility to organize the work of the representative office of Pridnestrovie in Moscow to support the operational contacts with representatives of Russia.
The head of state drew attention to the fact that the Pridnestrovian diplomats work in unique conditions. So, almost all of the PMR Foreign Ministry employees are limited in the possibility of entry to the territory of Ukraine. “This could not affect the building of communication with our Ukrainian partners, the work is carried out in very difficult conditions, when one of the segments of the border is closed,” - said Yevgeny Shevchuk.
During his speech, the President emphasized the intensification of pressure from the Republic of Moldova on the leadership and staff of the Foreign Ministry of the PMR. This is the provocative actions of the Moldovan side through an in-depth examination conducted in Kishinev airport.
“You are going through this period of pressure with honour. On behalf of the state I express my gratitude to all the personnel of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the efficiency and professionalism shown by you in carrying out the diplomatic mission,” - said Yevgeny Shevchuk. The President addressed separate words of gratitude to the veterans of the Foreign Ministry of Pridnestrovie.
For achievements in the development of mutually beneficial relations between the Russian Federation and the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, for establishing and strengthening cooperation with international partners, in connection with the 25th anniversary of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and the Day of the worker of the diplomatic service of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic the head of state awarded the Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Order “For Merit” II Class.
Source: president.gospmr.ru
