Prime Minister’s speech at UN: We have realistic path to build country our children will not have to leave in search of new opportunities

The Republic of Moldova may never become a great power, but it can certainly become a great country. We finally have a realistic path to build a country our children will not have to leave in search of new opportunities. Prime Minister Vasile Tofan made the statements during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, held in New York.

He said that small countries do not choose either their geographical position or their size, but, according to him, being small does not mean being powerless. The official said that the Republic of Moldova had long been described as a country caught between East and West and a place where others made the decisions, but today the country’s future is decided by the choices made by its citizens.


“This summer, the Republic of Moldova marked thirty-five years. For most of this period, the world described us as a country caught between East and West — a place where others made the decisions. Today I stand before you as the new prime minister of a country that has made its own choice. Small countries do not choose either their geographical position or their size. But being small does not mean being powerless. Nations, like people, are shaped by the choices they make: whom they trust, whom they choose to lead them, whom they consider their friends, and how they respond when things turn against them,” the official said.


He added that for a long time, many of these choices had been made by others on our behalf, while Moscow had used natural gas and trade embargoes as instruments of pressure against our country.


“For a long time, many of these choices were made by others on our behalf. The Soviet authorities deported our families to Siberia, imposed another alphabet on our Romanian language, and told us that it had another name. After independence, Moscow used natural gas and trade embargoes as instruments of pressure against our country. Step by step, we began choosing for ourselves. The Romanian language is once again written in the Latin alphabet and spoken freely. Governments change peacefully, through elections. And when our democracy was threatened, Moldovans defended it through elections and civic engagement,” Vasile Tofan said.


Over time, however, things changed, and the Republic of Moldova made its own choices, strengthened its energy independence, and developed its economy.


“We have also reduced Russia’s ability to exert economic pressure on us. We have diversified our sources of gas procurement. In just five years, the share of energy from renewable sources increased from nearly zero to about 30%. Our electricity system is increasingly integrated with Romania’s and with the European grid, while our companies sell their products in some of the most demanding markets in Europe and the world,” he said.


The official also condemned Kremlin’s attempts to influence our elections, noting that Russia had spent the equivalent of approximately two percent of our GDP for this purpose. The response of Moldovans, however, was that “their country is not for sale,” Vasile Tofan said.


“But Kremlin continued its attempts. Moldova faced illicit financing, disinformation, cyberattacks, and vote-buying. Russia spent the equivalent of approximately two percent of our GDP trying to influence last year’s elections. Moldovans responded that their country is not for sale. Each of these choices came at a cost. But each taught us the same lesson: we cannot control everything that happens around us, but what we do matters. This is where our optimism comes from,” he said.


In this context, the Prime Minister emphasized that the citizens of our country had chosen the European path, which represents democracy, prosperity, and peace.


“Our future remains in our own hands. And today, this choice is visible nowhere more clearly than in our European path. European integration has become our national project. The Republic of Moldova has been a candidate country for membership since 2022, accession negotiations are under way, and we are advancing rapidly. Our ambition is clear: to firmly anchor Moldova in the European family. For us, joining the European Union does not mean replacing one sphere of influence with another. It means exactly the opposite. It means that our citizens are exercising their right to choose. To choose democracy. To choose prosperity. To choose peace,” Vasile Tofan continued.


According to the Prime Minister, this European choice goes hand in hand with a strong transatlantic partnership.


“For Moldova, these are not mutually exclusive directions. The United States is an important partner in strengthening our security, energy independence, and resilience. We want the next chapter of this relationship to focus increasingly on trade, investment, technology, and projects that we can build together,” the official said.


He said that accession was not only about what Europe could offer Moldova, but also about what Moldova could bring: a democracy that had learned to withstand interference, an emerging economy, a country contributing to the stability of Europe’s eastern border, and a small state willing to test new ideas, carry out reforms, and advance rapidly.

Small size imposes constraints, but it can also be an advantage, Vasile Tofan believes. According to him, Moldova does not have a huge domestic market and cannot match the financial resources of the largest economies. Therefore, we must be competitive by other means: permits issued in days, not months; clear regulations; digital public services; and rules that we change when they no longer serve their purpose.


“Almost everywhere, technology is advancing faster than regulations, and artificial intelligence is widening this gap. Here, small countries can have a natural advantage. We want Moldova to become a place where emerging technologies can be tested responsibly, in regulatory testing environments — the so-called ‘sandboxes’ — where regulators learn alongside companies, rules are adjusted based on evidence, and good ideas do not have to wait for years to reach the real economy. When an entrepreneur comes forward with a technology that legislation has not yet caught up with, the answer should not simply be: ‘There is no regulation for this.’ It should be: ‘Let’s find a safe way to test it,’” the Prime Minister said.


The official emphasized that we may never have the largest sources of capital or the biggest clusters of graphics processors, but we can build better rules and be more agile. According to him, small size should not mean weakness; sometimes it means adapting faster and achieving results where larger countries fail.

At the same time, Vasile Tofan stressed that power had never been distributed equally and never would be, but inequality of power must never become inequality of sovereignty.


“Countries are not buffer zones. Nations are not bargaining chips. Nowhere is this principle being tested more brutally today than in our neighboring country,” the Prime Minister said, condemning the war waged by the Russian Federation against Ukraine.


He said that the city of Kyiv had been his home for nearly fifteen years, including on February 24, 2022.


“That morning, as parents, we found it difficult to explain to our three boys — who were one, ten, and twelve years old at the time — what war actually meant. Perhaps nothing shows better how this war has come to be perceived as normal than the arithmetic the children have learned. Imagine an ordinary night. A Shahed drone with jet propulsion is detected heading toward Kyiv. A twelve-year-old child checks the map, knows approximately how fast it is flying, and calculates in his head: forty minutes left. Forty more minutes of sleep before the approaching drone sends him to the air-raid shelter. Children have become frighteningly skilled at this nighttime arithmetic of war,” Vasile Tofan said.


According to the official, this is not a tragedy without an author.


“Russia launched a war of aggression against a sovereign neighboring state. It occupied territories and continued attacking Ukrainian cities. Ukraine did not choose this war. Russia chose it,” he stressed.


The Prime Minister also condemned the drone incidents recorded in our country.


“In Moldova, we cannot compare our suffering with that of Ukraine. And yet Russian drones repeatedly violate our airspace and fall on our territory. The danger is that what is unacceptable may start to seem normal to us. For us too, this is about the safety of our families. We must not get used to it. The fact that a violation is repeated does not make it acceptable,” Tofan said.


At the same time, Tofan reaffirmed his support for a just peace in Ukraine.


“If aggression is rewarded, it becomes a precedent — for the aggressor and for everyone watching. Peace must protect sovereignty and create the conditions for lasting security,” Tofan declared.


According to the official, the same principle applies within our own borders. In this context, the head of the Government of the Republic of Moldova reiterated his call for the withdrawal of Russian troops from our country’s territory.


“The Russian army continues to be stationed illegally and without our consent in the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova. We will continue to insist on their unconditional withdrawal. We want the peaceful reintegration of our country, with full respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova. We want people on both banks of the Dniester to live together in a peaceful, democratic, and prosperous Moldova,” Tofan declared.


During the event, Tofan announced that the Republic of Moldova had the honor of presenting its candidacy for the presidency of the 82nd session of the United Nations General Assembly.


“And because we believe that small states should help shape the international system, rather than merely depend on it, the Republic of Moldova has the honor of presenting its candidacy for the presidency of the 82nd session of the United Nations General Assembly. We want to contribute to a more effective, more inclusive, and results-oriented organization,” he declared.


The Prime Minister stressed that for too long Moldovans had been told that our country was too small, too exposed, and too divided to choose its future on its own. In this context, the official emphasized that we know our problems, but we must also know our strength, which lies in the people of this country.


“We live in a world that gives us plenty of reasons for pessimism. But Moldova chooses something else. Not naive optimism. Not the belief that problems disappear if we refuse to see them. Rather, the optimism that comes from the certainty that our future is still in our own hands. For too long, Moldovans have been told that our country is too small, too exposed, and too divided to choose its future on its own. We believed this for long enough. We know our problems. But we must also know our strength. We are a free country. Our people are modest, hardworking, and put family first. Our diaspora is spread throughout the world, but our people remain close to one another and deeply care about what happens at home. Perhaps only when it comes to vineyards is it a little harder for us to be modest: we have serious reasons to believe that our wines might even be the best in the world. We have friends throughout Europe, across the Atlantic, and far beyond these borders. And we finally have a realistic path to build a country our children will not have to leave in search of new opportunities. Moldova may never become a great power, but it can certainly become a great country,” Tofan said.


In his speech from the UN podium, the Prime Minister delivered a special message in Romanian addressed to the citizens of the Republic of Moldova. The official called for unity and solidarity amid the difficult regional situation.


“I know that many of you are anxiously following the news about the war next door, about the Russian drones that have become more frequent, and are already thinking about the coming winter. Yes, a difficult winter lies ahead. Our duty, as the Government, is to prepare and to help especially those who have the least. This is what we are working on and what we are discussing with our partners here.



But I want to ask you for one important thing: let us stick together. In difficult times, this has helped us every time — not abandoning one another, helping our neighbors, our parents, and the people who are struggling most. We may have different opinions and vote differently. That is natural in a country where people think freely. But concern for those around us must unite us. We are a small country. That is precisely why it is even more important to know that we are not alone and that we can support one another,” Tofan said.


Tofan is visiting New York from September 23 to 26 to attend the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly. The official held bilateral meetings with several officials and delivered a speech in the plenary session of the United Nations General Assembly.