On a visit to Iasi on Monday, independent presidential candidate Mircea Geoana said that Romania and Moldova should jointly benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine.

He added that he will respond to an older invitation of the Iasi Chamber of Commerce and Industry to participate in a conference for the reconstruction of Ukraine.

„It is my great pleasure to come with the experience and contacts that I have amassed during my long tenure at NATO. I have also invited as many business people from Basarabia as possible, because it is very important for Romania and the Republic of Moldova to take advantage of the reconstruction of Ukraine together, and I want us to find practical, pragmatic formulas, including financing, including collaboration with Western companies, to make sure that in the reconstruction of Ukraine, Romania and our companies and our people in Romania and the Republic of Moldova also benefit. It is normal, we have been helping Ukraine, so it is normal that we have these economic dividends of the investment and often of our sacrifice for our neighbour during the reconstruction,” said Geoana.

Asked if as a future president he would prepare Romania for peace or for war, Geoana said that the duty of a head of state is to secure peace for the nation he leads.

„The main obligation of a president, and in my case even more so – with the experience of NATO – is to keep the country at peace. It is the main mission of a president to keep his nation at peace, to keep the nation independent, sovereign and able to function at the highest possible level. That is why, with my experience – and I say it without false modesty – I believe that I am best prepared to avoid escalations (…) I rather think about how we can reap the peace dividends. Let me remind you that NATO’s eastern flank starts at Carei, northern Transylvania, and goes all the way to Romanian Bucovina and then down to Mangalia. This new eastern flank of NATO – with the arrival of the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine to Europe – will represent a historic change in development chances for Romanian Moldova, for northern Transylvania, which is also suffering and I believe that this area will be one of the most interesting and dynamic areas of Romania from an economic point of view.”

AGERPRES