OSCE Mission to Moldova helps working group experts improve negotiation techniques

Some 25 members of the expert working groups from both sides of the Dniestr/Nistru River got an opportunity to fine-tune their negotiation skills at an OSCE-organized training course on 7 and 8 June 2012.

The course was led by two trainers from the Clingendael Institute for International Relations and the Groningen-based Centre for European Security Studies, both in the Netherlands. The expert working groups, representing the sides in the Transdniestrian conflict, were created in 2008 to address practical issues related to people’s daily lives on both banks of the river. The members of the working groups are officials and experts in different areas, such as communications, transportation and social issues.

“This kind of training helps to establish the sides’ understanding of how negotiations are best conducted. The preparation provided by the course helps to create a good atmosphere and efficient discussions when the sides meet at the negotiating table,” said Jan Plešinger, the Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova.

Diana Cebotaru, who is from the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family in Chisinau and works frequently with negotiations, said: “The trainers have interesting and new approaches that I am sure I will be able to use in my job at the ministry.”

Alexander Tranchuk, a member of the Transdniestrian expert working group on telecommunications, emphasized the value of the course in enhancing contacts with counterparts from across the river: “I appreciate the possibility to meet and socialize with our colleagues from the right bank.”

The OSCE Mission to Moldova is conducting a series of such training courses for participants from both sides of the river throughout the year.