The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) and the GS Foundation signed today a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which will strengthen the capacities of the National Police and the Border Police to fight crime and terrorism, which have been intensified by the Russian military aggression against Ukraine.
The cooperation framework sets out the implementation of two large projects worth a total of more than €6.8 million.
Under the terms of the Memorandum, the General Inspectorate of the Border Police will upgrade its operational aerial surveillance and image analysis unit, including by equipping it with IT and software technology. Border guards will cooperate with experts from the European Union Satellite Centre (EU SatCen), continuing the exchange of information relevant for decision-making in the context of Europe’s Common Foreign and Security Policy.
The agreement also provides for a series of activities to strengthen the capabilities of the General Police Inspectorate employees to analyse and investigate crimes, handle, disarm and transport explosive devices, excluding the human factor and protecting employees involved in working with explosive materials.
Dispatches from all police subdivisions will be equipped with modern equipment and software that will allow the analysis, storage and operational transmission of information from the public space, with reference to possible risks of triggering social destabilization.
The equipment will improve collaboration with the 112 emergency service and the operational transmission of information to mobile emergency teams. It is also planned to provide the General Police Inspectorate with new transport units with high-performance equipment.
The memorandum also foresees the development of a comprehensive study at the level of the National Police, which could form the basis of further policy documents aimed at making the police profession more attractive and reducing staff turnover.
Minister of Internal Affairs Ana REVENCO expressed her thanks to the partners and mentioned:
‘We very much appreciate Germany’s flexibility. You should know that this partnership takes us beyond the mission of securing our country’s borders and those of the European Union. Empowering the MIA subdivisions helps us to secure our communities and makes us more interoperable with the European home affairs system’.
This Memorandum shall remain in force for a period of two years until December 31st, 2024. On the other hand, General Director of the GS Foundation, Thomas VOGEL, underlined the openness to develop new partnerships with the MIA, given the results of the cooperation so far with the National Police and Border Police teams:
‘We are here not to end the project next year, but to continue the cooperation with the Republic of Moldova, to turn your plans into good practices to take up. This memorandum, by the way, is not about project-based cooperation, but about development, exchange of best practices and expertise.’
It should be recalled that Germany was among the first EU member states to perceive Moldova’s significant role in securing the European Union’s security belt on the border with the war in Ukraine.
The German authorities constantly reiterate their support for the European perspective of the Republic of Moldova through bilateral partnerships and projects, which strengthen the security sector in our country, being one of the most active supporters of the EU Support Hub for Internal Security and Border Management of the Republic of Moldova.
