On Wednesday, 30 April, a meeting took place at the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) with the representative of the Embassy of Sweden in Chisinau, Mr. Thomas Alveteg, First Secretary, Deputy Head of Cooperation Inclusive Economic Development Department. The visit was organised in the framework of the common interest of the NBS and Statistics Sweden regarding a new bilateral technical assistance project in the field of statistics.

The Director General of the NBS, Mr. Oleg Cara, expressed his appreciation for the important support provided by Statistics Sweden within the framework of previous bilateral cooperation in various statistical areas, highlighting the significant contribution of Sweden to the strengthening of official statistics in the Republic of Moldova.

During the discussions, both sides reaffirmed their openness and readiness to prepare and initiate a new bilateral cooperation project to support the efforts of the NBS in aligning with European Union standards in the field of statistics. The project proposal aims to broaden cooperation in priority statistical areas by strengthening the institutional and technical capacities of the NBS with the support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and the Embassy of Sweden in Chisinau.

Among the main assistance needs discussed, the following were highlighted: strengthening the capacity of the NBS in areas such as continuous training in official statistics, innovation, and the alignment of statistical methodologies and tools with European Union (EU) standards.

Between 2013 and 2017, the NBS benefited from support through the cooperation project „Development of the National Statistical System of the Republic of Moldova”, implemented in partnership with Statistics Sweden and funded by SIDA. The project contributed to strengthening the NBS's capacity to produce high-quality statistics in line with international and European standards, covering areas such as human resources development, foreign trade statistics, business statistics, environmental statistics and national accounts.