United States Ambassador Dereck J. Hogan presented his credentials to President Igor Dodon at the official State Residence today.

In the introductory meeting that followed, Ambassador Hogan told President Dodon that the United States remains a strong supporter of the Republic of Moldova and the Moldovan people. He stressed the “United States would continue to work with the Moldovan government and people to build good governance, noting the February parliamentary elections represent a critical opportunity to boost domestic and international confidence in Moldova’s commitment to democratic reform.”

According to a press release by the U.S. Embassy in Chisinau, the new ambassador said that “the United States has provided nearly $1.5 billion of aid to the Moldovan people since its independence in 1991, which has helped generations of farmers, students, businessmen, entrepreneurs and others across the country.  U.S. assistance has helped Moldova to rebuild infrastructure, including schools and roads; make government services more efficient and responsive to the public; diversify routes and sources of energy; and promote a diverse and export-oriented economy to benefit the people of Moldova. The United States continues to work to improve the lives of ordinary Moldovans, helping small and medium–sized enterprises to be more competitive, and the local economy across the country to become more sustainable and prosperous,” Dereck J. Hogan said.

For his part, President Igor Dodon said that he had discussed with the American official the Moldova-United States relations, domestic and external political situation, as well as the deepening of the commercial and economic cooperation. “I noted the fact that the USA is an important strategic partner for Moldova, with which we have very good cooperation ties in all sectors. More than 400 enterprises with American capital successfully work in Moldova; yet, there is a huge potential in this respect, which must be turned to good account. In the end of the dialogue, I wished the new ambassador much success and I voiced confidence that, on the period of his mandate, the commercial relations will extend and the interest in Moldova will be enhanced,” Dodon said on a social network.

Ambassador Hogan most recently served as the Deputy Executive Secretary of the U.S. State Department and before that as Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’affaires at U.S. Embassy Baku, Azerbaijan. Mr. Hogan’s other senior positions in the State Department include Director of the Central European Affairs and Nordic and Baltic Affairs Offices and Senior Advisor to the President’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke. He previously served as the U.S. Department of State Representative on two civilian-military Provincial Reconstruction Teams in southern and eastern Afghanistan. His other overseas assignments include Russia, Belarus, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. He speaks Russian and Spanish.

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