President at Moldova Security Forum: State institutions learned lessons of 2024 and acted coordinately to limit foreign interferences in 2025

The experience of the Republic of Moldova in counteracting hybrid attacks on sovereignty and democracy was at the center of the discussion between President Maia Sandu and Tim Judah, a special correspondent for The Economist at Moldova Security Forum.

Now in its second edition, the forum positions itself as a landmark event in the national and regional security, addressing increasingly complex challenges posed by hybrid threats.

The Head of State emphasized that recent electoral processes have provided essential lessons in strengthening democratic resilience, combating informational manipulation, and preventing external interference attempts - including illegal money flows from the Russian Federation directed to influence democratic processes.

'State institutions have learned the lessons of the interference in 2024 and, starting from January 2025, began to prepare and act in a coordinated manner, managing to significantly reduce the impact of foreign interference,' Maia Sandu said.

The President also highlighted that the lessons learned from the three elections in the past two years will form the basis of a resilience plan aimed at strengthening the institutions' capacity to prevent and counter future interferences, thereby consolidating Moldova’s democracy and development, as well as its role as a reliable security partner for the European Union and Ukraine.

The forum, organized by civil society in partnership with state institutions and international partners brings together about 300 participants: high-ranking officials, government representatives, security experts, diplomats, and members of international organizations. This year's edition is focused on essential issues for regional and European security, such as strengthening resilience against hybrid threats, defending democracy and countering informational manipulation in elections, hybrid risks in the Black Sea region, as well as bolstering cybersecurity and digital democracy.