Despite considerable economic problems, Slovakia perceives the Republic of Moldova as a country with growth potential and integration ambitions. It is no coincidence that since 2009, Moldova has been a priority country (first a project, later a program) within the Official Development Assistance (ODA) of the Slovak Republic, and the number of projects supported by Slovak Aid funds is growing. The development diplomat, Peter Tomášek, gives concrete examples of aid and Slovak-Moldovan cooperation. Moldova has been a priority country for Slovak ODA since 2009; in the summer of 2013, the representative office of the Slovak Republic was opened in Moldova, and in the fall of 2013, an intergovernmental agreement on development cooperation was signed. How many development projects have been implemented there so far?

Moldova has been a Slovak ODA program country since 2014 (in accordance with the Medium-term ODA Strategy for 2014-2018), which means that, together with Kenya and Afghanistan, it represents a priority focus from a territorial point of view. In 2014, a separate call for project submissions was announced for Moldova, within which 6 new projects were approved for a total amount of approximately EUR 600,000. The implementation of these projects begins gradually in autumn 2014. In addition, in 2014, 20 micro-grants – small projects of up to EUR 5,000, intended mainly for rural communities – were approved and implemented. Until 2014, Moldova was a project country within the challenges for Eastern Partnership countries. In total, 12 projects in the amount of more than 1 million were implemented by 2014. EUR and 42 microgrants in the amount of 200 thousand. EUR.

Through the CETIR program, short-term study stays (up to 5 days) of Moldovan experts in Slovakia are implemented, or vice versa: Slovak experts in Moldova. The activities themselves take place in the form of workshops, or working meetings, aimed at passing on the experience of Slovak institutions - necessary for building the capacities of their Moldovan counterparts.

The first step is to identify the specific "know-how" that the Moldovan side needs help with; subsequently, the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Chisinau, as well as the SAMRS in Bratislava, will help to identify a suitable Slovak institution for sharing experiences. If the Slovak institution agrees and has sufficient capacity to implement the CETIR project, the method of implementation will be agreed upon. In some cases, it is more convenient to hold a workshop by Slovak experts for a larger number of participants directly in Moldova, in other cases, a study visit by experts from the Republic of Moldova is more appropriate so that they can see the functioning of Slovak institutions in practice.

In 2014, e.g. workshops of the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic for the Moldovan Competition Council; visit of employees of the Presidential Office of the Republic of Moldova in the Office of the President of the Slovak Republic and long-term cooperation through professional internships between the Corps of Prison and Judicial Guards and the Prison Service of Moldova.

What is the sectoral focus of Slovak ODA in Moldova?

In May 2014, the SR Strategy for Development Cooperation with the Republic of Moldova for the years 2014-2018 was approved, in which two sectoral priorities are defined: The first: Good governance - with the aim: "By sharing the transformation experiences of the Slovak Republic, support the building of a stable and democratic Republic of Moldova with an effectively functioning state administration, self-government and a strong civil society".

Second priority: Water and Sanitation - with the objective: "Improve the quality of life and health of the people of Moldova through efficient and sustainable management of water resources and waste".

What is the state of the non-governmental sector in Moldova and what form of support or help does it require from our side?

The non-governmental sector is gradually developing, also thanks to the support of foreign donors, and is becoming an important part of society. However, intensive foreign aid distorts the development in this area to a certain extent, when support in the form of development projects is mainly obtained by strong, already established non-governmental organizations from the capital. On the other hand, relatively little is developed "grass-roots" civil society (especially in the regions), which would activate people towards the improvement of conditions in their own towns and villages.

On the part of the Slovak Republic, it would be appropriate to support civic activism, strengthening of local initiatives in the field of democratization, local development, and the environment, with which we have had good experience in recent years in the Slovak Republic. Special attention should be paid to children and young people, who are more open to new perspectives on society and in the future can themselves initiate important civil society activities.

What forms of help are usual? What tools does the MZVaEZ SR or directly the ZÚ SR in Chisinau use?

The basic tool is the so-called bilateral projects. small subsidy scheme. These are submitted as part of the call announced by SAMRS by Slovak organizations that submit the project together with the Moldovan partner.

Furthermore, there are micro-grants that fall under the competence of the embassy and the already mentioned CETIR projects. A program of business partnerships is also open for MR (aimed at supporting successful business ideas in MR in cooperation with Slovak partners).

We plan to introduce other tools in the future. SAMRS, in cooperation with the embassy, ​​should identify, formulate and then implement its own development projects. Implementation of trilateral development projects (e.g. with the Czech Republic) is also planned.

Slowly, in addition to large grant support schemes, simpler forms of support, the so-called Microgrants. How fast are these funds mined?

There is quite a lot of interest in micro-grants. Their preparation and implementation are relatively simple, but the quality of submitted applications remains a problem, as Moldovan entities do not have the necessary knowledge and experience in the preparation and implementation of projects.

This year, a total of 20 microgrants were supported in the MR, which makes up a third of all microgrants from SlovakAid funds.

Thematically, they were mainly focused on small renovations in rural schools, support of children's sports activities through the purchase of sports equipment, purchase of medical aids for socially dependent patients, etc. Through the last two micro-grants this year, two emergency medical service vehicles were donated to Moldovan hospitals. Although the vehicles are used, they were delivered in good condition and with above-standard medical equipment. Given the current state of the health infrastructure in the Republic of Moldova, such assistance is of great importance.

Recently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic, as well as SlovakAid, published a comprehensive report from the Evaluation trip to Moldova for 4 specific projects. How did they meet the expected goals and evaluation criteria?

The mentioned projects were generally evaluated positively by independent evaluators and the set goals were achieved. Of course, some aspects of the implementation did not escape criticism - for us this is very important feedback with regard to upcoming development projects.

The evaluation of individual projects, but also of the overall strategy, will be one of the key elements for the successful operation of SlovakAid in MR. Recently, the Strategy for Monitoring and Evaluation of Bilateral Development Cooperation of the Slovak Republic was approved, and in cooperation with UNDP, SAMRS will formulate a detailed framework of planned results and indicators for the ODA strategy in the Slovak Republic.

How did the local community, the direct users of aid/cooperation, implement the given project results?

Moldovans are, of course, very grateful for development cooperation projects. That gratitude is always most evident at the level of local (rural) communities, where even a project with a small budget (e.g. a micro-grant) can significantly contribute to improving the quality of life of the residents.

On the other hand, MR is a country that is a long-term recipient of development aid in a relatively large volume. This help can in some cases reduce the level of own initiative and motivate to rely on "someone else to solve our problems". This is one of the challenges for the entire donor community in the Republic of Moldova, which tries to coordinate its activities in such a way that there is no duplication and that the projects achieve the greatest possible effect.

In 2010 and 2014, the project "Drinking water for the village of Dezghinja", which was implemented by ADRA Slovakia, was publicized. Artesian wells were revived in the given area. How is Moldova doing in terms of access to drinking water?

Simply put - very bad. Access to drinking water is one of the most serious development problems of the Republic of Moldova, which is also why it is one of SlovakAid's priority topics in the Republic of Moldova. Only about two-thirds of households are connected to the water network. In rural areas, it is only about 37%. If there is a water connection, the water is often not potable.

The situation in the field of sanitation is even worse, when there is practically no sewerage in the countryside. It often happens, for example, that children at school have to go to the latrine in the yard...

In the past, the SR provided financial support for the dormitory of the Union of the Visually Impaired, or the modernization of Moldovan public television (even in the presence of Minister Lajčák). What other interesting project would you like to mention?

Several interesting projects were implemented, but I would rather mention the upcoming ones, from which we expect a lot. These are, for example: capacity building of civil society and local self-government in Gagauzia, cooperation between ZMOS and the Congress of Local Self-Governments of the Republic of Moldova in connection with the upcoming decentralization process, water management planning in the field of water sanitation or support for integrated urban planning.

How ​​long do you think the development aid will be, or cooperation in Moldova (as a country trying to join the EU) necessary?

This question is difficult to answer. It depends first of all on the Moldovans themselves, on their own initiative, willingness and ability to transform their own country. Rapprochement with the EU can, of course, be an important factor in supporting the necessary reforms, but I will emphasize again that it depends on the Moldovans how they use this opportunity. In this regard, the Slovak Republic, as a country that has successfully gone through the transformation process, can be a good example for them - not only through successes, but also through lessons learned from some mistakes (since we are still far from perfect)...

However, Slovakia has definitely undergone a successful change in the field of economy and society, and at the beginning of this process, probably few would have said that one day Slovakia will also be a country that will turn from a recipient to a donor of development aid. The upcoming parliamentary elections (at the end of November) will also be an important step on this path for Moldovans, as they can significantly decide on the future direction of their country.

How does ZÚ monitor the activities of Slovak volunteers working in Moldova?

In the current operation of the ZÚ, only one volunteer was sent to MR within the framework of SlovakAid. However, two volunteers from the European Voluntary Service also worked here. We were or are in contact with all of them and helped with adaptation at the beginning of the stay. The volunteers were proactive and showed a keen interest in the functioning of SlovakAid in MR. Through contact with ZÚ, they had the opportunity to become more familiar with the implemented projects and visit some of them in person during monitoring.

We have very good experience with volunteers and we strongly support their work in MR. We believe that in the near future more volunteers from Slovakia will work in MR.

Text: Bozena Baluchová, Photo: Peter Tomášek, www.slovakaid.sk