On April 12, 2022, the first informal meeting of the Parliamentary Working Group on Gagauzia (PWG) in its new composition took place. The event was facilitated by CMI – Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation within the ‘Gagauzia Dialogue’ project funded by Sweden. Delegated MPs from Chisinau and Comrat, representatives of the Secretariats of the Parliament and People’s Assembly of Gagauzia, and CMI representatives attended the meeting, which was held in Avdarma, ATU Gagauzia.
The meeting was opened by the Country Manager, CMI – Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation, Steve Young. He welcomed the PWG members referring to the role of CMI, as dialogue process facilitator. Mr Young endorsed that CMI would continue supporting the dialogue process providing good offices and facilitating the dialogue.
During the event, PWG launched the debate on the common agenda, identifying immediate priorities and outlining strategic topics to be included in the PWG Action Plan 2022. The PWG members reiterated their commitment to ensuring a constructive dialogue and fulfilling the Group’s mandate to find common solutions to existing issues in order to improve the lives of ordinary people and institutionalize efficient mechanisms of cooperation between the centre and the autonomy for the benefit of the Republic of Moldova.
During the event, the participants discussed the rules and procedures of engagement within the Working Group, agreed on frequency of formal and informal meetings to be held on regular basis and had a preliminary exchange of topics to be outlined within the PWG Activity Plan 2022.
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The Parliamentary Working Group on Gagauzia is a permanent dialogue platform between the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova and the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia, created in 2015 by the Speaker of the Parliament and composed from equal numbers of legislators from Chisinau and Comrat. Since its launch, CMI provided ‘good offices’ to the formal process, while facilitating regular informal meetings. The Group continued working even during the pandemic on virtual platforms and in hybrid format, when the situation permitted.
Over the years the group has adopted over 60 joint decisions, one of the examples being the creation of the territorial office of the Regional Development Agency of the ATU Gagauzia, by which the region receives financial support for carrying out important development projects.
