Speaker spoke with Turkish Parliament member about development of Gagauzia and strengthening partnership with Turkey

Speaker Igor Grosu held a meeting with Kürşad Zorlu, Deputy Chairman of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), responsible for relations with Turkish states, and member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The discussion focused on the situation in Gagauzia, joint projects for the development of the region, and the deepening of relations between the Republic of Moldova and the Republic of Turkey.

Igor Grosu emphasized that Chisinau respects the special status of Gagauzia and is interested in a strong, prosperous autonomy that preserves its language, culture and identity, and that is fully integrated into the life of the Republic of Moldova. “Gagauzia is part of the Republic of Moldova, and the Gagauz identity is part of the diversity and richness of our country. We want the people in the autonomy to have more opportunities, better education, jobs and prospects here at home,” said Grosu.

The Speaker highlighted the special role Turkey plays in Gagauzia, due to historical, cultural and linguistic ties and the projects implemented over the years. Through TİKA, Turkey has carried out approximately 500 projects in the Republic of Moldova, about 90% of them being implemented in Gagauzia, with total investments of over 80 million dollars since 1994.

The Speaker encouraged the expansion of Turkey’s projects in Gagauzia, especially in areas such as education, support for young people, entrepreneurship and local development. In this context, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan College in Comrat can become a flagship project that contributes to preserving the Gagauz language and identity.

The discussions also covered economic cooperation between the Republic of Moldova and Turkey. Igor Grosu welcomed the growing interest of Turkish companies in the Republic of Moldova and stressed that the authorities want more investments and joint projects. At present, around 1,180 enterprises with Turkish capital are operating in our country, and in 2025 the volume of bilateral trade exceeded one billion euros.

The parties agreed on the importance of continuing the close dialogue between the Republic of Moldova and Turkey and of turning the special relationship with Gagauzia into projects that deliver concrete results for people and bring the communities of the Republic of Moldova even closer together.