The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis decorated eight U.S. congressmen with the title of Commander of the Star of Romania Order as a sign of appreciation for their contribution in developing the relations between Romania and the US, in the political, military and economic areas.

The ceremony took place in Washington, where the Romanian President is ending his five-day visit to the US with a meeting with president Donald Trump, scheduled for June 9.

The decorated congressmen are: Orrin Hatch, the most senior Republican in the senate and the president pro tempore of the US Senate since January 2015; Democrat senator Ben Cardin, a ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Republican senator Ron Johnson, the chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on European and Regional Security Cooperation and the chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; Republican senator Marco Rubio, Chair, of the Senate Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women's Issues; Republican representative Devin Nunes, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and a member of the Ways and Means Committee; Republican representative Mike Rogers, the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Strategic Forces; Republican representative Jackie Walorski, a member of the Congressional Romania Caucus; and Republican representative Robert Aderholt, also a member of the Congressional Romania Caucus.

President Iohannis said Romania is the best partner the United States can have, and asked those decorated to continue their efforts for consolidating bilateral relations. “I know I can count on you! And you need to know you can also count on us!” Iohannis said, quoted by Agerpres.

In his turn, Republican congressman Devin Nunes said Romania finds itself in a sensitive part of the world, where Russian aggression continues to be a problem, Hotnews.ro reported.

“The U.S. relies on our allies in eastern Europe, we rely on Romania and we will be there to support it,” Niven said, at the ceremony where he received the decoration from the Romanian president. “It is a great honor you bring to us. It doesn’t happen very often that members of Congress get recognized by a head of state. The fact that you took time to come here and show your appreciation for the members of the legislative is commendable,” he said. Niven also served in President Donald Trump’s transition team.

President Iohannis also had talks with the US congressmen about having Romania included in the VisaWaiver program.

“Both senators and members of the House of Representatives ensured that they support the visa waiver for Romania and that there is a bipartisan group making all the possible efforts to find solutions, which, within the limits of current US legislation, could simplify the process of joining this program,” according to a statement from the Romanian presidency.

editor@romania-insider.com

(Photos: Presidency.ro)