MOLDOVA: OSCE COUNTERTERRORISM WORKSHOP

UNCLAS CHISINAU 001012 FOR EUR/RPM (ROSS TAGGART/RICHARD PROSEN/ERIC STONE),S/CT (SHARRI CLARK/DON KURSCH),USOSCE (ANDREW HYDE/JULIE RASCHKA) EUR/UMB SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PTER OSCE MD SUBJECT: MOLDOVA: OSCE COUNTERTERRORISM WORKSHOP RECOMMENDED PARTICIPANTS Sensitive but unclassified. Please protect accordingly. REF: STATE 115646 ¶1. (SBU) In response to reftel, Embassy Chisinau nominates the following individuals to attend the 11-12 February 2010 OSCE counterterrorism workshop in Vienna. Both candidates would contribute to the discussions at the workshop and are in a position to influence policy. ¶2. (SBU) Government candidate: Deputy Chief of Gasification and Energy Efficiency Directorate at the Ministry of Economy, Alexandru Stinca. The Division is responsible for the implementation of a) energy infrastructure protection policy; b) energy security and coordination among the major energy sector players; and c) governmental policy of gas and energy resources in Moldova. Prior to becoming Deputy Chief in 2008, Mr. Stinca worked for the same unit from 2004 to 2008 as a specialist. Mr. Stinca has a master's degree in public administration and is a licensed engineer. Deputy Minister of Economy, Ilarion Popa, who responsible for the energy portfolio, recommended Mr. Stinca. The candidate speaks Russian fluently and understands some English. ¶3. (SBU) Energy sector candidate: Moldovan- Russian gas company Moldovagaz Deputy Chief Valentin Tonu. Moldovagaz is Moldova's natural gas company, which is 50 percent plus one share owned by Russia's Gazprom, 13.4 percent by the separatist region Transnistria, 35.3 percent by the government of Moldova, and 1.3 percent by approximately 1,000 shareholders. Mr. Tonu is responsible for gas delivery and sales. He oversaw the division for dispatching and production from 2000 to 2009 before being named Deputy Chief. Prior to joining Moldovagaz, Mr. Tonu was the Director of the interregional local gas company in the northern Moldovan city of Edinets from 1989 to 2000. From 1979 to 1989 Mr. Tonu was the chief engineer in Edinets. In his position, he is responsible for critical energy infrastructure protection and can influence policy and practices. He has extensive experience with the security of Moldovagaz installations and emergency response. Moldovagaz management nominated Mr. Tonu and supports his participation. Mr. Tonu speaks Russian fluently and understands English. MICHELI