On 8 and 9 October 2026, NATO's Deputy Secretary General, Radmila Shekerinska, visited the Republic of Moldova. She met with President Maia Sandu, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mihai Popșoi, Minister of Defence Anatolie Nosatîi, and other senior officials. They discussed a range of issues and took stock of Moldova's long-standing partnership with NATO.
"NATO and Moldova have had a fruitful partnership for over 30 years. This relationship is based on political dialogue, as we saw with the recent visit of NATO's Political Committee in August, marking Moldova's 35thanniversary of independence, and on practical cooperation, to strengthen Moldova's resilience and defence institutions," the NATO Deputy Secretary General said. She highlighted the delivery of around 50 million euros to Moldova through NATO's Defence Capacity Building package, including over 12 million euros worth of modern body armour and helmets, over 7 million euros for safe ammunition storage, and over 4 million euros of IT equipment and software to help protect from cyberattacks. She pointed out that NATO also helped to develop a cyber-defence facility at the Technical University of Moldova, and a cyber response team within the Moldovan Armed Forces.
Ms. Shekerinska highlighted that the partnership developed between NATO and Moldova is a two-way street, praising Moldova's contributions to Euro-Atlantic security. This includes sharing valuable lessons from its experience defending against hybrid threats, and deploying military personnel to the NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo (KFOR), which helps maintain a safe and secure environment for all people living in Kosovo, under its long-standing UN mandate.
The NATO Deputy Secretary General also delivered a keynote address at the 2026 edition of the Moldova Security Forum. "For years, Moldova has stood firm against interference and intimidation from Russia, with ingenuity and grit. That is what resilience is all about," she said.
