Former Moldovan interior minister Dorin Recean is expected to be approved by the country’s parliament as the new prime minister as early as this week following the resignation of Natalia Gavrilitsa, who announced her resignation on February 10.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu appointed Recean as head of government after Gavrilitsa announced his resignation after a year and a half as head of cabinet. Rechan is Sandu’s defense and security advisor.
Rechan, 48, who served as interior minister from 2012 to 2015, will have 15 days to form a new government, which will go to parliament for a vote of confidence.
“The main tasks of the new government are to strengthen the security sector, revive the economy and build resilience in the face of Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine,” said the Deputy Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament, Mihai Popsoi at media.
On Friday, President Sandu thanked former Prime Minister Gavrilitsa for his “great sacrifice and effort in leading the country through so many crises”.
The secretary general of Moldova’s ruling party, Action and Solidarity, noted that the change of government was long overdue.
Moldovan MK Evgeni Sinkevich told a media correspondent that the change in cabinet reflected the need for further action in the country’s defense sector.
“We have to pay a lot of attention to security in our government, which was one of the factors that prompted us to change the government,” Sinkevich said. “The country is focused on maintaining order in the country, especially at a time when Russia is trying to destabilize Moldova.”
He added that Russia “could destabilize the situation from within. They have a lot of Russian agents under the guise of representatives of various political structures, especially pro-Russian in Moldova, and now they are investing a lot of money in destabilizing the interior.
Recean told his colleagues that as Prime Minister, his main task will be to bring “order and discipline” to the institutions of the Republic of Moldova and that he will strive to breathe new life into the economy, to ensure peace and stability.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Moldova’s pro-Western leaders have sought to forge closer ties with their Western partners. In June last year, Moldova received EU candidate status on the same day as Ukraine.
