Romania and the Republic of Moldova signed 1-year cooperation agreements with Microsoft and UiPath on December 12 in Chisinau for the digital development of public administrations in the two countries, and documents obtained by HotNews.ro specify what each side will contribute, without establishing obligations or commercial agreements.

The Minister of Research, Innovation and Digitalization from Romania (MCID) Sebastian Burduja and Iurie Tsurcanu, the Deputy Prime Minister for Digitalization from the Republic of Moldova (VPMD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Microsoft and a cooperation agreement with UiPath.

At the request of HotNews.ro, the Ministry of Digitization sent two documents, the main provisions of which we present below.

Memorandum with Microsoft: the company will be invited to the working meetings of the Joint Office of Digital Cooperation between the two countries

The Memorandum of Understanding with Microsoft states that it “does not constitute a commercial commitment and does not impose any obligation on the parties to enter into a commercial agreement, nor does it specify all matters that must be agreed upon prior to the execution of a commercial agreement or agreements.”

• VIEW THE MEMORANDUM WITH MICROSOFT HERE

The overall goal of this cooperation is to support the joint efforts of the governments to develop information technologies in the public and private sectors of Romania and the Republic of Moldova by improving the digital infrastructure, developing the legislative environment, adopting a modern cloud orientation policy and improving digital skills.

The parties expressed interest in working together to use global experience and technological solutions from Microsoft, taking into account the urgent needs of Romania and the Republic of Moldova in the development and launch of joint initiatives aimed at digital transformation and increasing the potential of cyber security:

• Sharing experiences, knowledge and solutions that can support the development of new digital products with other parties;
• Information exchange in areas of common strategic interest, such as e-identification and trust services, data sharing, e-services, machine learning, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, etc. and allocation of necessary resources;
• Participation with speakers in forums and state initiatives organized by MCID and VPMD dedicated to the field of information technologies;
• Other resources, expertise and support, as appropriate, shall be determined jointly by the parties.

What Romania and the Republic of Moldova will contribute:

• Participation in the development of a joint vision and roadmap for the implementation of the Memorandum;
• Ensuring the timely involvement of ministries, state institutions, the private and associative sector and the Romanian academic environment in the implementation of the Memorandum’s activities;
• Sharing experiences, knowledge and solutions to facilitate the development of new digital products with other parties;
• Active involvement in the process of joint creation of electronic solutions and distribution of necessary resources;
• Interaction with the public and private sector of information technology in Romania and the Republic of Moldova (developers, vendors, integrators, etc.) to support the dissemination and implementation of the latest trends, technologies and solutions in the industry, encourage innovation and meet the needs of the demand for new e-services to support e-government and digital economy;
• Facilitation with the help of own methods, means and tools of activities and events organized to achieve the goal and objectives of the Memorandum

Microsoft will do the following:

• Support of the agenda with technical expertise and relevant information;
• Exchange of knowledge and experience in the field of information technology with interested parties from Romania and the Republic of Moldova regarding the latest trends and technologies in this field;
• Support MCID and VPMD with relevant information for their IT sector modernization processes and possible improvements, taking into account available Microsoft technologies;

To achieve the objectives of the memorandum of understanding, MCID and VPMD will establish a Joint Office for Digital Cooperation as the governing body for the implementation of this Memorandum of Understanding in order to increase the effectiveness and impact of digital transformation initiatives and the implementation of the common digital space of Moldova and Romania, as well as the goals of digital transformation, to establish working strategies and for mutual consultations.

The parties will jointly establish the frequency of meetings, to which Microsoft will also be invited – which must be held regularly, but not less often than once a quarter, as well as the agenda of these meetings.

Cooperation agreement with UiPath: it is non-commercial and the company will not have preferences over other operators

The second document signed by the officials of Romania and the Republic of Moldova was the Cooperation Agreement with UiPath, a global software company that has an end-to-end automation platform.

And here it is clearly stated that “MCID and VPMD do not offer, and UiPath does not expect, a more favorable or favorable treatment compared to other economic operators” after signing this agreement.

• VIEW THE COOPERATION AGREEMENT WITH UIPATH HERE

“The Agreement is not of a commercial nature and cannot obligate the UiPath company to allocate funds or financial, material or human resources to achieve the goal and objectives described in this Agreement.

This Agreement does not jeopardize or affect UiPath’s independence from MCID and VPMD, nor will it be construed as an obligation on the part of UiPath to provide certain services or offer licenses for its products,” the document states.

What is UiPath’s contribution to this partnership:

• Participation in the development of the roadmap for the implementation of the Agreement;
• Exchange of knowledge and experience in the field of information technology with MCID and VPMD on the latest trends and technologies in this field;
• Advising MCID and VPMD on the modernization of the information technology sector and possible improvements, taking into account the available technologies;
• Active participation in the process of finding solutions to promote an inclusive and sustainable digital society;
• Participation in government forums and initiatives organized by MCID and VPMD dedicated to the field of information technologies;
• Other resources, expertise and support, as needed, are mutually determined by the parties.

What Romania and the Republic of Moldova will contribute:

• Participation in the development of a common vision and roadmap for the implementation of the Agreement;
• Ensuring the involvement of ministries, state institutions, private and associative sectors, the academic environment of Romania and the Republic of Moldova in the implementation of the Agreement;
• Exchange of experience, knowledge and solutions in order to promote the development of new digital solutions together with other Parties;
• Active participation in the process of finding solutions to promote an inclusive and sustainable digital society;
• Interaction with the public and private sector of information technology in the Republic of Moldova to support the dissemination and increase awareness of the latest trends, technologies and solutions in the industry, encouraging innovation in the fields of e-services and the digital economy.
• Other resources, expertise and support, if necessary, are jointly established by the Parties.

The agreement with UiPath is for a period of 1 (one) year and will automatically renew for successive periods of 1 (one) year unless terminated by either party. Either party may terminate this Agreement at any time by giving 30 (thirty) days written notice to the other parties.