| 23 November 2009 On 23 November 2009 Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova Vlad Filat met members of a Swedish parliamentary delegation led by First Deputy Parliament Speaker Jan Bjorkman. The sides tackled the political situation in Moldova, prospects for European integration and development of the Moldovan-Swedish bilateral relations. Jan Bjorkman positively appreciated the Moldovan government s consistent actions to meet the European integration objective. He voiced hope that the political situation in Moldova will improve, and the parliamentary factions will reach consensus on the issue of president's election. Attending the meeting, Swedish Ambassador to Moldova Mats Aberg said that Sweden will remain a faithful partner to Moldova on the path of reforms and European integration. He stressed that Sweden has a valuable experience in this respect and is willing to provide every support to Moldova. Prime Minister Vlad Filat thanked Sweden for the substantial support given to Moldova. The prime minister highlighted the importance of a recent visit to Moldova by Carl Bildt in his tenure of president-in-office of the European Union's Council of Foreign Ministers. On this occasion, Filat conveyed cordial regards to Mr Bildt. During the visit, the sides established the main trends of cooperation which will lay the basis for talks on an association agreement between Moldova and the European Union. "The period in which Sweden holds the EU Presidency is difficult for Moldova, but it is certainly a very important one, as a democratic government has been established in Moldova," the prime minister said. The prime minister voiced hope that, at the end of the Swedish EU Presidency, Moldova will start negotiations on the liberalisation of the visa regime for the Moldovan citizens. He emphasized that this goal is vital for Moldova. Another focus of the meeting was cooperation within the Eastern Partnership. Vlad Filat reiterated the Moldovan government's intention to actively work to turn to account the opportunities offered by this project. As for the Moldovan-Swedish bilateral ties, Vlad Filat stressed that Sweden is Moldova's principal European donor. He underlined the importance of both the earmarked sums and the fields for which assistance was provided.
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