The Chisinau City Hall and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) signed on Tuesday a Memorandum of Understanding with the aim of improving the support and integration of refugees, asylum seekers and stateless persons in the local community.

The document was signed by the General Mayor, Ion Ceban, together with the representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Bertrand Blanc, Representative a. i. UNHCR Moldova.

The cooperation between the Chisinau City Hall and the UN Refugee Agency will facilitate the joint implementation of training and capacity building programs targeting public officials, CSOs and other social actors focused on working with refugees and international protection issues.

General Mayor Ion Ceban said that one of the initiatives to be implemented following the signing of the Memorandum is the "Cities of Solidarity" initiative, a concept that aims to promote the protection and inclusion of refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons and members of host communities in urban and suburban areas.

At present, more than 40,000 refugees from Ukraine, as well as several hundred people of other nationalities, are hosted in Chisinau.

There are also almost 28,000 people with temporary protection status in the capital.