Moldova and the United States signed an agreement to strengthen the institutions of the state of law and improve the performance of the justice sector. The accord was signed by Prime Minister Vlad Filat and USAID Regional Director for Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus Robin Phillips and countersigned by the U.S. Ambassador to Moldova Asif Chaudhry in Chisinau on July 22, Info-Prim Neo reports. The Premier said ensuring the independence of justice is an absolute necessity in a state of law, underlining that the reform of the legal system has been a major objective after Moldova proclaimed its independence. He also said that the agreement will support the Government of Moldova in its efforts to create new mechanism for promoting, motivating and making judges and prosecutors more responsible and will strengthen the independence, responsibility and transparency of the legal system. For his part, the U.S. Ambassador to Moldova Asif Chaudhry said many important things have been achieved for Moldova during his tenure. “The relations between Moldova and the United States have now reached a culmination point,” he stated. The U.S. diplomat stressed the importance of the independence of justice for strengthening the state of law and ensuring stable economy. He said that the signed agreement has two main components – strengthening of the professional capacities of judges and prosecutors, and the civil society’s role in implementing the justice reform by more actively monitoring the given processes. Since 1993, the USAID has provided over US$300 million in technical assistance to such Moldovan sectors as land and energy, strengthening of the social and health protection systems, development of entrepreneurship, the reform of the financial sector, and strengthening of the institutions of the state of law.