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Romanian Senate Speaker Crin Antonescu on Monday had a meeting with the President of the Moldovan Parliament Igor Corman, on which occasion the two officials reiterated the excellent bilateral cooperation between the two countries, especially at parliamentary level.

'I welcome you at the Romanian Senate too, after the meeting you already had with our colleagues from the Deputies Chamber. The Romanian Parliament, as you well know it, is bicameral. It is a great pleasure for us to greet you, especially since among the many forms of cooperation and political dialogue existing between Romania and Moldova, our cooperation at parliamentary level remains essential and I believe that, over the years, we have done so many things ... although, of course, there are so many things that still remain to be done', said Antonescu.

Crin Antonescu reiterated the interest the Romanian authorities have in further cultivating their relations with the Republic of Moldova, while also noticing that, in what the Republic of Moldova was concerned, the entire Romanian political class reached a 'definite' consensus.

'While the entire political class in Romania shares the same attitude, openness and interest in the special cooperation between our country and the Republic of Moldova, and also while considering our partnership and permanent dialogue on all major issues, I can say that each of our meetings, either in Bucharest or Chisinau, is very important', said the Speaker of the Romanian Senate.

In his turn, Igor Corman underscored that the road to the EU represents a priority for the Republic of Moldova and the current governing coalition, which sees a chance for an Association Agreement between the EU and the Moldova being signed very soon.

We are also paying a special attention to our relations with Romania, at bilateral level and also in the context of the European agenda, since the European accession represents a priority for Chisinau and for the governing coalition. This is a very important stage for the destiny of the Republic of Moldova and I refer here to the upcoming Eastern Partnership Summit, but also to the period after this Summit, because I do believe that we will sign an Association Agreement with the EU, to also include the free trade zone to finally place Moldova in Europe', said Corman.

He also specified that, at the same time, the Moldovan authorities are making efforts to eliminate the visa regime for the Moldovan citizens moving in Europe.

'We appreciate very much the constant support from Romania related to this issue. We already have a good cooperation at parliamentary level. We also signed a cooperation protocol in 2010, based on which we later created the Joint Committee on European Integration. We appreciate very much the fact that Romania is so open to us. There is this positive emotional charge, this readiness to help us', the official from the Republic of Moldova said. Agerpres