EFTA States and the Republic of Moldova hold their fourth round of negotiations

EFTA and Moldova Heads of delegation

Ambassador Einar Gunnarsson, Permanent Representative at the Permanent Mission of Iceland in Geneva, acted as EFTA spokesperson, while State Secretary Vadim Gumene from the Ministry of Economy headed the Moldovan delegation.

EFTA and the Republic of Moldova discussed all remaining open topics, namely trade in goods and services, establishment and government procurement.

Progress was made in all areas. The chapters on government procurement, establishment and intellectual property rights were concluded this week. The remaining topics under negotiation will be pursued up to and at the next round, scheduled later this year.

EFTA’s full report of the round is available here. 

Economic relations between the EFTA States and the Republic of Moldova

Total trade between the parties has been growing exponentially over the last ten years. In 2021, total trade between the EFTA States and the Republic of Moldova reached USD 79 million, of which USD 34 million represented imports from Moldova and USD 45 million represented exports from the EFTA States. Exports from EFTA States to Moldova had an average annual growth rate of 21.3% over the last five years.

The main imports to the EFTA States were electric machinery (32%), while most exports to the Republic of Moldova were vehicles parts and accessories thereof (41%) and pharmaceutical products (21%). Total trade between the parties continues to increase this year.

Read more about merchandise trade between EFTA and the Republic of Moldova here.