A meeting between Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Sushri Shobha Karandlaje and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Agriculture & Food Industries of Moldova, Mr Vladimir Bolea was held today at Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi.
Welcoming the Moldovan Deputy PM and his delegation, Sushri Shobha Karandlaje mentioned about the 31 years of close and friendly diplomatic relations between India and Moldova. She expressed her happiness on opening of Moldovan Resident Mission in New Delhi. The Indian Minister also mentioned about the declaration of the year 2023 as International Years of Millets (IYOM) by the United Nations on the proposal from Govt. of India and highlighted the benefits of millets for health as well as the environment.
Both Ministers emphasized on the potential for increasing bilateral trade in agricultural commodities and for strengthening of bilateral agricultural cooperation through exchange of knowledge and technology.
Mr Vladimir Bolea congratulated India on becoming the 5th largest economy and also for India’s G20 Presidency. He proposed signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation between the two countries in the field of Agriculture which would provide an institutional mechanism for cooperation between the two countries.
Mr Bolea also expressed Moldova’s interest in exporting vegetable oils to India and importing fertilizers and pesticides from India. He expressed Moldova’s support to India for its membership of UN Security Council in 2027 and informed that Moldova is a candidate to become an EU member and follows the EU standards and therefore their products are safe to consume. He highlighted the Moldovan culture of producing wine and apples as a way of life and expressed their interest in exporting these products to India.
MoS agreed to the proposal of signing of an MoU and proposed that India will soon share a draft MoU with them. She also requested the Moldovan side to send proposal for cooperation in exchange of technology. The Moldovan Minister invited Sushri Shobha Karandlaje to visit Moldova.
