Moldova–Spain Relations
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Moldovan-Spanish relations are foreign relations between
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
and
Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...
. On 30 January 1992, Spain established diplomatic relations with Moldova. Spain is represented in Moldova via its embassy in
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
in
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
. In 2008, the Spanish government indicated that 12,582 Moldovan citizens were legally working there. Spain was a significant investor in Moldova through
Unión Fenosa ''Unión Fenosa, S.A.'' was, until its acquisition by '' Gas Natural'' in 2009, a large Spanish company dedicated to the production and distribution of gas and electricity. It installed capacity of 11,120 megawatts of power and 8.9 million custo ...
which owns three of Moldova's five energy distribution companies. Fenosa/Naturgy sold off her stock in the companies. Spain is a member of the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
, which Moldova applied for in 2022.


History

On January 30, 1992, Spain established diplomatic relations with Moldova. The spokesman of Foreign Affairs Department of the Popular Party,
Javier Rupérez Francisco Javier Rupérez Rubio (born April 24, 1941) is a Spanish politician, diplomat and writer, was born in Madrid on 24 April 1941. He holds degrees in law (1962) and journalism (1975) from the Complutense University of Madrid. Since 2006 h ...
, headed the Spanish delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the p ...
on 23 February 1994 to Chişinău to observe the development of the first democratic elections in Moldova. The observers maintained contacts with the first President of Moldova Snegur and other authorities of the country. In the same date the then Spanish president, Felipe González, sent a letter to the Moldovan Government explaining the benefits that the entrance in the "Association for Peace" of
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
would suppose for Moldova. González promised in its message that Spain followed with interest the development of the events in Moldova and was prepared to propose initiatives that contributed to the security and the stability in the zone. On 8 July 1997
Petru Lucinschi Petru Lucinschi (; born 27 January 1940) is a former Moldovan politician who was Moldova's second President from 1997 to 2001. He currently serves as the founder and head of the Lucinschi Foundation of Strategic Studies and International Relat ...
, and Mihai Popov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs attended a NATO summit in
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
. In 1998, Spain was not represented in Chişinău, but used its embassy in Bucharest. In September 2000,
Petru Lucinschi Petru Lucinschi (; born 27 January 1940) is a former Moldovan politician who was Moldova's second President from 1997 to 2001. He currently serves as the founder and head of the Lucinschi Foundation of Strategic Studies and International Relat ...
met in New York with
José María Aznar José María Alfredo Aznar López (; born 25 February 1953) is a Spanish politician who was the prime minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004. He led the People's Party (Spain), People's Party (PP), the dominant centre-right political party in Spai ...
, President of the Spanish Government at the
Millennium Summit The Millennium Summit was a meeting among many world leaders, lasting three days from 2000, held at the Headquarters of the United Nations, United Nations headquarters in New York City. Its purpose was to discuss the role of the United Nations ...
. On 6 November 2000 the Secretary of State for European Affairs, Ramon de Miguel, traveled to Moldova to carry out a visit of work of two days during which he analyzed the bilateral relations with the president of the Republic, Petru Lucinschi, and with prime minister, Dumitru Braghis. Miguel also met with the Deputy Prime-Minister for Defense Affairs, Valeriu Cosarciuc, the Minister of Exteriors, Nicolae Tabacuru and the Vice-Minister, Iurie Leanca, as well as with the President of the Commission for Transnistria Vasile Sturza, a group of Spanish industrialists and several members of the Moldovan Parliament. During his stay in Moldova, Miguel inaugurated the Center of Hispanic Studies at the State University of Moldova. The trip was consequence of the meeting that in September had maintained in New York Lucinschi with the president of the Spanish Government, José Maria Aznar. Also in 2000 Spanish military experts visited to Moldova to report on the
War of Transnistria The Transnistria War (; ) was an armed conflict that broke out on 2 November 1990 in Dubăsari between pro-Transnistria (Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, PMR) forces, including the Transnistrian Republican Guard, militia and neo- Cossack un ...
. Their trip was cut short and they returned home after 2 days after local authorities suspended their visit. In October 2005, the new ambassador of Spain in Bucharest, Juan Pablo Garci'a-Berdoy, visited Chişinău to offer credentials and he met with the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Eugenia Kistruga. The Vice-Minister communicated to the ambassador the possibility of opening the Embassy of Moldova in Madrid in 2006 or 2007. He asked for the opening of the Embassy of Spain in Chişinău. The first visit to Spain by a Moldovan foreign minister took place on 5 October 2006. There was a visit to
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
on 6 October 2006 by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Moldova,
Andrei Stratan Andrei Stratan (born 3 September 1966) is a Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romani ...
. He emphasized the new bilateral relations between Spain and Moldova. In March 2007 Moldova hoped that with Spain in the Presidency of the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the p ...
they would have mediation in the
Transnistria conflict The Transnistria conflict (; ; ) is an ongoing frozen conflict between Moldova and the unrecognized state of Transnistria. Its most active phase was the Transnistria War. There have been several unsuccessful attempts to resolve the conflict ...
. In May 2007 a meeting on the conflict took place in
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
. Representing Spain was D. José María Pons and Miguel Ángel Moratinos of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
. In October 2007 The Spanish minister made his first-ever visit to Chişinău. A formal announcement was made of Chişinău's intention to open Moldova's embassy in Madrid. In June 2022, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Spanish prime minister
Pedro Sánchez Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón (; born 29 February 1972) is a Spanish politician who has served as Prime Minister of Spain since 2018. He has also been Secretary-General of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) since July 2017, having p ...
made the first visit ever of a Spanish head of government to Moldova, meeting with Moldovan president
Maia Sandu Maia Sandu (; born 24 May 1972) is a Moldovan politician who is serving as the sixth president of Moldova since 2020. She is the founder and former leader of the Party of Action and Solidarity and was Prime Minister of Moldova, prime minister o ...
and prime minister Natalia Gavrilita. Sánchez announced the plan to open a diplomatic office in Chişinău, and told Sandu Spain's position defending "the sovereignty and territorial integrity" of Moldova "within its internationally recognized borders". Minister Plenipotentiary Juan Antonio Martin Burgos was appointed and acredited as Chargé d'Affaires a.i., Head of the Diplomatic Office of the Kingdom of Spain in Chisinau in June 2022.


Economic relations

Spain is a significant investor in Moldova with the presence of the energy company
Union Fenosa Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Union ...
which owns three of Moldova's five energy distribution companies. Spain is the third foreign investor in Moldova since the year 2000. Spain's commerce between Moldova is listed below in millions of €:


Agreements

*1999 May 20: Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Spain and the Government of the Republic of Moldova on Highway International Transport *2006 May 11: Agreement for Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments


Resident diplomatic missions

* Moldova has an embassy in
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
. * Spain is accredited to Moldova from its embassy in
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
, Romania. File:Madrid - Embajada de Moldova (Castellana 178).jpg, Embassy of Moldova in Madrid


See also

*
Foreign relations of Moldova After achieving independence from the Soviet Union, the Republic of Moldova established relations with other European countries. A course for European Union integration and neutrality define the country's foreign policy guidelines. In 1995, t ...
*
Foreign relations of Spain The foreign relations of Spain could be constructed upon the foreign relations of the Hispanic Crown. The personal union of Castile and Aragon that ensued with the joint rule of the Catholic Monarchs was followed by the annexation of the Kingdo ...
* Moldova-EU relations **
Accession of Moldova to the European Union The accession of Moldova to the European Union (EU) is on the current agenda for Future enlargement of the European Union, future enlargement of the EU. Following an application by Moldova in March 2022, Moldova was officially granted candida ...


References


External links


Embassy of the Republic of Moldova in Madrid

Embassy of Spain in Bucharest

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Moldova

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moldova-Spain relations
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
Bilateral relations of Spain