President says Romania seeks stronger US economic ties, backs EU integration of Moldova and Ukraine
Romanian president Nicușor Dan presented the country's main foreign and security policy lines on Tuesday, September 1, during a meeting with the heads of Romanian diplomatic missions from across the world.
In a subsequent message on Facebook, the head of state outlined three major points of focus for Romania’s foreign policy: development of economic relations with the United States of America, strengthening of bilateral defense partnerships and firm support for the European path of the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.
The head of state stressed that the strategic relationship with the US must go beyond the sphere of military cooperation and attract significant economic capital to Romania. “The partnership with the US is very important for Romania. We have made progress and, beyond the security partnership, we want a more significant economic presence of American companies in Romania,” Nicușor Dan said.
On the second point, Dan said that Romania is focusing on bilateral partnerships with a defense component that would strengthen the guarantees provided by multilateral alliances. “Regarding hybrid threats, both the kinetic side and the disinformation side, these issues must continue to be part of our concerns,” the head of state added.
Regarding the European agenda, the current year is marked by essential negotiations on the future financial framework of the bloc. The president expressed his hope that the Multiannual Financial Framework will be finalized as soon as possible, ideally by the end of this year.
Moreover, Romania will remain an active promoter of the European Union's enlargement and of strengthening the EU's internal security architecture, according to the president.
“We are interested in the enlargement process, especially for the Republic of Moldova, as well as for Ukraine and the Western Balkans. At the same time, we are interested in the security architecture within the EU,” Nicușor Dan explained.
Dan also reiterated Romania's commitment to supporting Ukraine and international measures aimed at ending hostilities. He further noted that Ukraine celebrated Romanian Language Day for the first time this year.
“We want the war in Ukraine to end as soon as possible and a solid peace in the region. For this, we support Ukraine and support forms of special economic pressure on Russia. We support the European integration process for Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkans,” the president concluded.
(Photo source: presidency.ro)
