OREANDA-NEWS. May 10, 2012. Energy cooperation between Moldova and Romania was one of the main topics of a meeting of the Moldovan-Romanian intergovernmental commission for economic cooperation and European integration held in Bucharest, the Moldovan Economics Ministry s media liaison service has reported.

The officials discussed the implementation of a project of building a cross-border gas pipeline Ungheni-Iasi. They agreed to ensure the financial, human and technical means needed for the two sides to carry out the coordinated agenda. They also created a joint working group, whose members will meet at least once a month and who shall work out a concrete schedule of the project s implementation within a week.

"The interconnection of the national gas transport system is a strategic objective for both Romania and the Republic of Moldova, which will help step up the two countries energy security and diversify the gas supply sources and routes," Moldova s co-chairman of the commission, Economics Minister Valeriu Lazar said in Bucharest.

Lazar also asked for Romania s assistance in the context of negotiations on a deep and comprehensive free trade area between Moldova and the EU, pointing up Moldova s willingness to take over Romania s experience in complying with the EU rules in such sectors as quality infrastructure and food security.

The sides praised the significant evolution in the trade relations between the two countries in 2011, when the trade exchanges surged by over 50 per cent. At the same time, they agreed to step up cooperation to speed up the traffic of row material, of goods produced by reliable and authorized enterprises in line with the customs legislation of the two states.

The officials agreed to hold the next meeting of the commission in Chisinau.

Romania ranks second among Moldova s top trade partners in terms of exports and third in terms of imports, with the bilateral trade operations exceeding 950 million dollars in 2011. There are 498 companies with Romanian capital operating in Moldova. Romania s overall investments stood at 1.48 billion lei (95.3 million euros) by 1 October 2011, accounting for 6.4 per cent of the overall foreign investments made in Moldova.