Moldova’s window of opportunity

If you asked most Americans and Europeans to identify Vladimir Filat or find Moldova on a map and you would be likely to get a blank stare. Both, however, were worth getting to know. Filat was the prime minister of Moldova, a small country of four million people that emerged from the break-up of the Soviet Union nearly 20 years ago and borders Ukraine and Romania. Despite its size, Moldova was an important piece to the puzzle of trying to achieve the vision of a Europe whole, free, and at peace.

Filat was in Washington in January 2010 to sign an agreement with the Millennium Challenge Corporation for $262 million in aid and to meet with senior U.S. officials, including Vice President Joseph Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. His arrival marked the first official visit of a Moldovan prime minister to the United States in memory and represented a historic change after eight years under the previous backward Communist government.