Deputy Prime Minister at Diaspora Forum: Each of you is an ambassador of our country and contributes to promoting image of Moldova

Each of you is an ambassador of our country. As long as our citizens, who are far from home, do their work responsibly and bring fame to their own families, to their communities and to the Republic of Moldova through their daily activities, this is a great asset for our country. This is how we promote the image of the Republic of Moldova in the European community and among the citizens of other states. Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mihai Popșoi delivered the message at the 2026 Diaspora Forum held in Chisinau.

The official urged citizens who have settled abroad to continue contributing to strengthening relations between the Republic of Moldova and their countries of residence.

“We rely on our diaspora and we want to better capitalize on the opportunity it offers us, not only in the perspective of accession to the European Union, but also in relations with other states. Our communities manage to promote the country’s image just as well or perhaps even better than a state institution can. Our resources are limited, diplomats are few, but there are very many of you. When you talk with a friend, a neighbor or a colleague at work in your countries of residence, you have the chance to promote the Republic of Moldova in a way that we will never be able to. No matter how active a diplomatic mission might be, it remains a small team. In contrast, our diaspora is very numerous. That is why we will always turn to you to help promote our country,” said Mihai Popșoi.

The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that the authorities will make every effort to facilitate the creation of as many diaspora associations as possible, as they are important partners for the ministry, for diplomatic missions and for strengthening the relationship between the Republic of Moldova and communities abroad.

“We are trying by all possible means to ensure the observance of your rights in the states where you live and to help you obtain as many benefits as possible – whether it is social protection, driving licenses or other services. Some things are achieved more quickly, others more slowly, but we work constantly to offer our citizens concrete and tangible benefits. A recent example is related to Germany. I am referring to apostille mechanisms. In Germany, the process was more complicated because that country placed a reservation on the 2007 Hague Convention. For almost two decades, our citizens in the diaspora faced major difficulties when they had to legalize documents. We managed to obtain from our German partners the withdrawal of this reservation, so that Germany now stands alongside the other signatory states of the Hague Convention and the process of legalizing documents has become much simpler – both for documents issued in the Republic of Moldova and used in Germany, and vice versa,” Mihai Popșoi noted.

The minister spoke about the expansion of the Republic of Moldova’s diplomatic network and the authorities’ efforts to respond to the needs of communities of citizens abroad, despite limited budgetary resources.

“In recent years we have tried to expand the consular network. The diaspora in the United States requested for 30 years the opening of new consulates. There was only the Embassy in Washington. Recently, we inaugurated consulates in Sacramento and Chicago, where there are communities of our diaspora. We would like to have more consulates in Europe as well. If our aspirations coincided with our budgetary possibilities, that would be extraordinary. But even with limited resources we manage to do important things. Regarding Africa, we do not have the resources to open embassies in Kenya or Nigeria, but we have found an interim solution. Soon we will have a non-resident ambassador for the African continent. He or she will be based in Chisinau but will travel several times a year to Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and other states where opportunities arise. The same applies to South America. These are distant regions, with smaller communities of our citizens, but they must be supported. Thus, we will have a non-resident ambassador for this region as well, based in Chisinau. We have recently opened new diplomatic missions – including in Kazakhstan. All of Central Asia was practically uncovered by the Republic of Moldova. We are talking about states with which we have relations and where there are important opportunities. Economic diplomacy is an area in which we are trying to make sustained efforts to harness our potential,” the official added.

Mihai Popșoi stressed the importance of cultural diplomacy and the involvement of the diaspora in promoting the Republic of Moldova abroad, noting that the authorities are open to new initiatives and projects in this field.

“As regards cultural diplomacy, we very much wish to have a stronger presence and for the Ministry of Culture to have larger budgets, so that it can bring not only the ‘Mihai Eminescu’ National Theatre, but also other cultural institutions on tours in Europe and other regions. In the strategy we are now trying to develop for each state individually, we want to make the best possible use of the resources we have, together with the boundless resource that you are – the diaspora. We are waiting for you to come forward with concrete proposals: what ideas you have, how we can make the Republic of Moldova more visible and how we can better promote our country. We will try to help wherever there are good ideas and valuable projects,” the Deputy Prime Minister concluded.

Every year, the Diaspora Forum brings together Moldovans from all over the world to share ideas, discuss the future of the Republic of Moldova and identify ways to be actively involved in the country’s development.

The Diaspora Forum is an event organized as part of the 2026 Diaspora Days, which take place throughout the month of August under the slogan “Wherever we are, Moldova unites us!”. The program includes events dedicated to young people, professionals, leaders of diaspora associations and all citizens interested in contributing to the development of the Republic of Moldova. The activities are organized by the Bureau for Relations with the Diaspora within the State Chancellery.