George Scutaru, Director General of New Strategy Center, participated on 7 October in Chisinau in the conference “From Strategic Requirements to Industrial Capacity – Building Moldova’s Defence Industry, Dual-Use Technologies and Military Innovation Ecosystem”, dedicated to the development of Moldova’s defence industrial capacity, dual-use technologies, and regional cooperation.

George Scutaru spoke about cooperation between Romania, the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine in the defence industry and about the need for a regional approach to strengthening security. He highlighted that neutrality status does not, in itself, provide a security guarantee. Neutrality must be supported by investments in defence and resilience, as well as by strengthening institutions capable of responding to current threats. He also underlined the need to increase interoperability between Romania and the Republic of Moldova, including by bringing standards closer together and leveraging Romania’s experience as a NATO and European Union member.

George Scutaru emphasised the importance of international support for the Republic of Moldova and the need to keep Moldova high on the agenda of Western partners, in a regional context deeply affected by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. He also noted that future security guarantees for Ukraine must take into account the security of the Republic of Moldova.

The conference brought together representatives of public institutions, the security and defence sectors, industry and academia, as well as investors and international partners.

New Strategy Center is a partner of the initiative, alongside ROMDEF, Leviatan Group, and Patromil. The conference was organised by the Euro-Atlantic Institute for Building Resilience, Aspen Institute Romania, and WatchDog.MD Community.