Washington / Chisinau, April 23 - The Moldovan diaspora in North America was out in force with notable business entrepreneurs at the 10th edition of the Moldovan-American Convention, the “MAC”, taking place on April 19 - 21, 2024, in Washington DC. Given the role of the stability of Republic of Moldova for the conflict in Ukraine, this year the MAC attracted high-level participation from members of the US House of representatives’ committee on foreign relations as well as the Administrator for USAID. The meeting took place at the historic Library of Congress. The second day of the MAC saw a meeting of the Moldovan-American business community that discussed how to invest in Moldova with a view to contribute to country’s resilience and stability.

The Moldovan-American Convention is a public platform for dialogue and communication, advocating for expanding economic, cultural and political connections. The main goal of the Moldovan-American Convention is to build a strong and united community that is capable of improving the lives of Moldovans in North America and help people in Moldova. The Convention is a platform to bring together bright minds and most enthusiastic hearts of Moldovan diaspora in North America. The annual Conventions are hosted in different cities of North America and each of them focuses on several themes that are relevant to the ever-changing needs of the community and developments in the Republic of Moldova. Previous editions were held in Washington DC (MAC1), Chicago IL (MAC2), New York NY (MAC3), Miami Fl (MAC4), San Francisco CA (MAC5), Philadelphia PA (MAC6), Las Vegas NV (MAC7), Seattle WA (MAC8), Chicago IL (MAC9).

The 10th anniversary edition of the event was organized at a pivotal moment for the region, as the Congress of the United States of America casted its vote in support of Ukraine, and ultimately in favor of stability and progress of the entire region. The meeting took place in the Library of Congress of the USA / Thomas Jefferson Building, gathering high-profile speakers from the political and international development sectors in USA and R. Moldova.

On day 1, the Administrator of the USAID, Ms. Samantha Powers, Mr. Scott Nathan, the CEO of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, the US Congresswoman Mrs. Deborah Ross of North Carolina who co-chairs the Congressional Moldova Caucus with the USA Mr. Michael Lawler, a Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and Erin E. McKee, Assistant Administrator for the Europe & Eurasia Bureau, USAID joined their voices in support of Moldova’s democratic reform process, EU accession, combatting corruption and undue outside influence, highlighting the importance of diaspora as a factor of change and progress.

The event was joined by the Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Mihai Popsoi, several state secretaries, head of the export and investment promotion agency, several high-profile businessmen based in Moldova – and over a hundred of active and well-established Moldovan diaspora members from the USA and Canada. 
 
The event came as a natural continuation from the previous day edition of the annual high-level bilateral Strategic Dialogue USA – Moldova, which reviewed progress and identified new opportunities for cooperation on shared priorities in the Strategic Dialogue’s Rule of Law & Good Governance, Security & Defense, Economy & Energy, and People to People Ties working groups.

In his speech, the Chief of IOM Mission to Moldova, Mr. Lars Johann Lönnback praised the “transformative role the diaspora is playing for Moldova, in economic, democratic and political, social development areas, noting the importance of both financial and “democratic” remittances, contribution to reforms and EU accession through returns and expertise sharing. As the country managed to withstand the shocks related to the energy dependency on Russia, inflation, and refugee crisis, under a further long game for stability and economic renewal, the diaspora will play an enormous role and there are concrete investment mechanisms and opportunities to be explored”.

On Day 2, the event continued with the Business Forum, which was organized at the Army Navy Country Club, in Arlington.The event started with a speech by the Deputy Prime Minister Popsoi, who touched upon the country’s strategic development considerations, and was joined by the Deputy Secretary General of NATO, who reaffirmed the unwavering support of NATO in favor of Moldova’s parcourse to a prosperous, secure, stable, and democratic future in the Western civilization.  IOM Chief of Mission to Moldova, Mr. Lars Johann Lonnback in his turn congratulated the audience with the historical vote in the USA Congress, outlining its importance and benefits, and praising all those involved in keeping Moldova on the path of EU integration.

The Business Forum continued with a discussion on the challenges, risks and opportunities posed by the longer-term horizon of development of Moldova, moderated by Mr. Dumitru Dediu, Partner, McKinsey in New York. Further, under another panel, concrete sectors and opportunities for investing in Moldova were discussed, outlining the merits and risks. The event was joined in another panel by Mrs. Anca DRAGU, the Governor of the National Bank of Moldova, under a panel on macro-financial stability and regulatory barriers, moderated by Mr. Dumitru VICOL, EM Strategist, Sovereign Wealth Fund Abu-Dhabi/UAE.

Further the event comprised a panel on national programs and opportunities for engagement in charity, local development, skills, and expertise sharing, promoting the avenues for Giving Back. The event closed with a discussion of the remote voting modality under the upcoming Presidential elections and the referendum on EU accession. IOM Moldova under the Joint Migration MPTF programme supports the diaspora engagement work, contributing to the organisation of the event in DC, incl. via facilitating the organization together with UNDP, of a panel on engaging the Moldovan diaspora in the USA for business development, trade, and investment in Moldova. The event featured IOM’s work and experience on engaging diaspora’s resources in post-refugee crisis transition and recovery work, expanding the Moldovan Diaspora’s support to the Govt and local communities in deploying humanitarian aid to refugees following the start of war in Ukraine. The event also allowed IOM to promote the return of the qualified diaspora in support of Moldova’s EU accession, under its recently launched Temporary Return of Qualified Nationals Program. IOM announced its plans for organizing jointly with the Government and UNDP of the Diaspora Invest event in Chisinau in August 2024, part of its wider vision for valorizing diaspora’s material resources and skills for cross-border business development, extending the invitation to the participants in the event in USA.

***
For information, please contact Ghenadie Cretu, Program Coordinator – Analyst, Migration and Development, IOM Moldova, gcretu@iom.int