President Maia Sandu today signed a decree granting the ranks of ambassador and minister plenipotentiary to 14 diplomats of Moldova.


According to the document, the diplomatic rank of ambassador was conferred on Nicolae Popescu – Special Envoy of Moldova’s President for European Affairs and Strategic Partnerships; Violeta Agrici – Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Moldova to Poland; Corina Calugaru – Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Moldova to France; Victor Martin – Consul General of Moldova in the city of Nice, France; Sergiu Mihov – State Secretary of  the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Mihai Mitu – Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Carolina Perebinos – State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Oleg Tulea – Ambassador at Large, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.


The rank of minister plenipotentiary was also conferred on Mihail Barbulat – Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Moldova to Hungary; Inga Ionesii – Head of the Institutional Management Directorate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Victor Lapusneanu – Head of the Multilateral Cooperation Directorate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Vilen Murzac – Head of Section, International Law Directorate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Vladimir Sacagiu – Head of Section, Multilateral Cooperation Directorate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Vadim Zmeu – Consul General of Moldova in the city of Padua, Italy.


The presidential decree enters into force on the date of its signing.


According to the Law on the Diplomatic Service, there are eight diplomatic ranks in Moldova: attaché, third secretary, second secretary, first secretary, counsellor, minister-counsellor, minister plenipotentiary and ambassador. They are granted in accordance with the qualification and professional training of diplomatic service employees.


Each year, on January 17, Moldova marks Diplomat’s Day. On this day, the country submitted its application for accession to the United Nations, an event that marked the beginning of the process of consolidating and asserting the Republic of Moldova internationally and of boosting its diplomatic activity.