On September 13, the Foreign Policy Association (APE) organized the first public consultation within the project “Strengthening civil society’s engagement in national security protection under new hybrid threats”, with the theme “Current problems of state security and defence in the context of the implementation of the National Plan “Building a European Moldova”. The special guest of this discussion was Mr. Valeriu Mija, Secretary of State in the field of defence policy, who presented the main objectives and priorities of the Ministry of Defence, emphasized the importance of capitalizing on cooperation with external partners in order to increase the capabilities of the National Army, as well as mentioned the most pressing challenges in the security and defence sector reform process.
Among the participants of the event were representatives of state institutions, civil society and the academic environment. They appreciated the role of the Ministry of Defense in facilitating the state’s defence policy and drew attention to the need to develop communication capacities and disseminate relevant information in a timely manner. A series of recommendations were identified to improve the resilience capacity of the institutions involved in ensuring the security and defense of the state, and priority directions for reform were established. The participants concluded about the vital role of strategic communication in times of crisis, especially in the direction of preventing and combating hybrid threats.
The public consultation is organized within the project “Strengthening civil society’s engagement in national security protection under new hybrid threats: challenges, opportunities and key decisions” implemented by APE in partnership with Nord News, the “Pro-Europe” European Center in Comrat and the Security Zone, funded by a grant from the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) with support from the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
