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The discussion between Ion Ceban, the General Mayor and UN High Commissioner for Refugees at "Moldexpo"

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On Friday, Ion Ceban, the General Mayor had a dialogue with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, at the "Moldexpo", Temporary Placement Center for refugee from Ukraine. The Mayor spoke about how refugees from Ukraine are received and served.

Thus, in the last 4 days, more than 7,600 people have passed through "Moldexpo" the Refugee Sorting and Placement Center. All Ukrainian refugees passing through the Center are provided with the minimum necessary. The time spent in the institution is approx. 24 hours, after which people are transferred to other 44 locations that have been set up in Chisinau.

Chisinau LPA collaborates with NGOs and various economic agents which help to provide refugees with hot meals three times a day. According to the Mayor, most of the refugees leaving Ukraine pass through the Republic of Moldova.

In this context, Ion Ceban wanted to thanks the Government, for activating the "Manej Athletics Center", as a refugee center with 600 seats. Local authorities are appealing to the Government to activate another sports institution, "Arena Chisinau", in order to avoid a collapse in terms of managing the refugee problems, as a result of the fact that municipal capacities are limited.

Otherwise, the Mayor said that refugees receive a full range of services: registration, medical care, food, social and educational services, legal assistance, etc.

At the moment, 560 volunteers are involved in the activities with Ukrainian refugees, working in shifts. Buses are also available to transport people to customs or from the border to the capital.

In turn, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said that he had arrived in Moldova to assist the central and local authorities in Moldova in dealing with the problem of people arriving from Ukraine.

The UN official thanked the municipal authorities for the involvement and hosting of the Ukrainians who left their homeland due to the war, appreciating the hospitality of the Moldovans. At the same time, Filippo Grandi reiterated the need for support for the issue of migrants from the international community. According to the UN representative, humanitarian aid is already arriving in the country. Concurrent, a team of experts is coming to help manage the situation. The official also asked the Mayor to assess the needs, so that international organizations can provide the mobilization of resources and support.

According to municipal officials, in the last few days, the flow of refugees from the "Moldexpo" Accommodation Center is about 2,000 people. Priority is given to accommodate the mothers with minor children. Also, there are people who do not have Ukrainian citizenship, which are students at universities in Kyiv, Kharkov or Odessa.