Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help strengthen the UK’s relationship with Moldova.

Moldova is a valued partner of the United Kingdom. Since the start of this parliament, we have strengthened our relationship through the conclusion of agreements on defence and security, the mutual recognition of driving licences, and returns. In May, we held the fourth UK-Moldova Strategic Dialogue and an inaugural Illicit Finance Dialogue, reaffirming our commitment to strengthening bilateral relations and enhancing cooperation across key sectors. The UK is providing support to Moldova to tackle foreign interference in the run up to their parliamentary elections. This includes providing election observers, countering disinformation, and addressing the flows of money used for vote-buying and illegal funding of political parties.

In the past year, the Foreign Secretary, the Defence Secretary and I have all visited Moldova. The Prime Minister has met with President Sandu on four occasions, most recently when she visited the UK on 23 July. I met Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Popsoi in Antalya in April to discuss a range of issues.