PHOTO // Days of Ukraine in Moldova organized in Chisinau

Chisinau, 6 October /MOLDPRES/ - Chisinau on 5 October hosted the Days of Ukraine in Moldova Festival, which brought together hundreds of participants – Ukrainians who took refuge and settled in Moldova, representatives of international organizations, officials from Moldova, Ukraine and Romania. The event, which lasted all the day long, provided to the public a varied programme – beginning with discussions on the situation in the region, Ukrainians’ integration into the society, benefits of the accession to EU, up to the presentation of the traditional cuisine, national costume and a concert given by artists from Ukraine.     
In his welcome speech, the president of the National Congress of Ukrainians from Moldova, Dmitry Lekartsev, stressed that the Days of Ukraine in Moldova Festival had been created, in order to unite the Ukrainians from Moldova and develop the intercultural and international dialogue. ‘’The Days of Ukraine in Moldova Festival from this year has become an important platform for the development of the community of Ukrainians from Moldova, Ukrainians’ integration into the Moldovan society.  Representatives of more countries and international organizations discussed key issues which regard the social and economic integration, cultural exchange and the long-term development,’’ Lekartsev said.        
The president of the Ukrainians’ Union of Romania, Romanian MP Nicolae-Miroslav Petretchi, stressed that such events allowed identifying and discussing subjects of common interest. The Romanian official thanked the Moldovan authorities for the support provided to the community of Ukrainians of Moldova and participated in a discussion on the subject, Consolidation of local communities for a resilient future of Moldova. ‘’We referred to the need of stimulating the cooperation between the local administrations from our countries. We pointed out  that the most important opportunities of development provide the rapprochement of Moldova with the European Union, which is the biggest investor in the economy of the neighbour country. As much as 81.5 per cent of the foreign direct investments to the Moldovan economy comes from EU, as the European Union provides multiple non-refundable funds and loans, in all sectors, from agriculture to public services, from electric energy to mass media, from transport infrastructure to export of products. The European money is just at a distance of one click and a minimal experience is necessary in writing projects to get it and the Ukrainians’ Union of Romania has a vast expertise in writing projects and is ready to share it,’’ the Romanian official said.     
Resident Representative of the United nations Development Programme (UNDP) Daniela Gasparikova said that ‘’an essential part of the UN’s programme on development is the ensuring of the equal access to knowledge and resources for the entire community, including for the Ukrainians from Moldova. ‘’Our projects on sustainable development will be aimed at backing the local authorities, entrepreneurship and the employment, in order to help the community on its way of development,’’ the official noted.     
The festival’s organizers prepared for visitors shows of traditional Ukrainian and Moldovan dances, songs and theatre plays, a presentation of fashion of traditional national costume from Ukraine and Moldova, an area for entertainment for children and a concert of a famous rock band from Ukraine.  
Since the beginning of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, more than one million Ukrainians have entered Moldova. Presently, there are about 120,000 Ukrainians in Moldova, of whom over 51,000 are children.