Republic of Moldova

The first Call Center on consular affairs was launched in Chişinău

Chisinau, December 17, 2009- The first Call Center on consular affairs was launched in the Republic of Moldova on December 17, 2009 in Chisinau. Starting this day, the citizens of the Republic of Moldova situated in country or abroad, as well as foreign citizens may contact the Call Center and rapidly receive the requested consular information. The Call Center operators can be contacted at 080090990,the toll free number for calls from the Republic of Moldova, and +373 22 690990 number for calls from abroad, at standard rate for the country that the call is being made from.

 
The Call Center was launched within the Consular Affairs Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration with the support of several donors. “The massive citizens’ exodus imposed the Ministry to create a new service that would meet the citizens’ needs in obtaining timely and accurate information on consular affairs. During the discussions that I and the Prime Minister had with our diaspora in Belgium, Greece, Italy, a deficiency of communication between the state representatives and our citizens living abroad was identified. By launching the Center, we aim to come closer to the concerns and needs of our citizens”, declared Mr. Iurie Leanca, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration at the inauguration of the Call Center.

This new service offers citizens immediate access, from distance, to consular information. Until the launch of the Call Center, the citizens were forced to travel, sometimes hundreds of kilometers, to reach the nearest embassy/ consulate or to wait the day and hour that they were scheduled. The Call Center offers information services different areas of consular affairs. The citizens will find out from the Call Center operators how emergency travel document or temporary passports can be obtained, what documents must be legalized and for what states, what to do when the international passport is lost, how to proceed when someone from acquaintances disappeared or died abroad, what are the consular taxes etc.

“One of the UNDP Moldova priorities is to provide qualitative services to the citizens of the Republic of Moldova. We are pleased that through the launch of the Call Center, this priority is extended abroad. From now on, the citizens of the Republic of Moldova, from wherever they are, may receive answer to any consular affairs requests dialing one single phone number” mentioned Kaarina Immonen, UNDP Resident Representative in the Republic of Moldova.

The Call Center is launched within the “Building Institutional Capacity of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration” project, implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Moldova, with the financial support of the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA).
More information about Call Center can be found at  http://www.mfa.gov.md/centrul-apel/
For contact: Alexandru Pelivan, project manager, tel. 578-334, e-mail: alexandru.pelivan@undp.org