Sharing experiences and drawing inspiration from successful examples to support the return and reintegration of citizens in our country

We were privileged to host a special presentation by the Executive Director of REPAT Armenia, Vartan Marashlyan, who brought to our attention the inspirational example of Armenia in stimulating the return and reintegration of their citizens.

Together with the Diaspora Relations Bureau team, we discussed the importance of adopting and adapting best practices to facilitate the return process of those who have left the country. This is a topic of utmost importance, considering that one-third of our fellow citizens are living outside the borders of the country.

We are committed to implementing effective policies that encourage and facilitate their return home. The State Secretary of the Government, Ana Calinici, underlined this and highlighted continued efforts to create a conducive environment for returning to the country.

We also presented our policy documents - the National Programme "Diaspora" 2024-2028 and the National Programme for stimulating returns and facilitating the (re)integration of Moldovan citizens involved in the migration process for the years 2023-2027. These initiatives pursue clear objectives and concrete actions to support our communities abroad in their return and reintegration process.

We were pleased to have representatives from various institutions such as the Ministry of Education and Research, the National Employment Agency, the Organisation for the Development of Entrepreneurship, the Invest Moldova Agency, the Customs Service, the National Office of Social Insurance and the Alliance of Native Associations. They also emphasized the importance of joint efforts and presented the opportunities offered to support the return and reintegration process. 

During this meeting, we shared and learned from Armenia's experience in stimulating the return and reintegration of their citizens. We discussed about the development of relationships between the country of origin and communities abroad, effective communication strategies and methods for monitoring and evaluating policies in this area.

We are determined to continue this collaboration and bring positive changes that encourage and facilitate the return and reintegration of our fellow citizens.

The event took place with the support of the projects "Support for diaspora governance, migration and development by improving policy and institutional frameworks" under the Programme "Harnessing the potential of migration in the Republic of Moldova", phase III, funded by the Swiss Cooperation Office, as well as the "Policy Advice Fund", funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and implemented by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) in Moldova.