President: Romania is determined to strengthen EU - UN partnership

As the country is getting ready to hold the presidency of the EU Council in the first half of next year, Romania is determined to strengthen the European Union – United Nations partnership, president Klaus Iohannis said. He was speaking during the general debate of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 73), on September 26. “When I speak about engagement I don’t just mean politicians and diplomats. We have to reach out to our younger people, representatives of the civil society, journalists, business-people. We need them all for the cause of multilateralism and global leadership,” Iohannis said. The president argued that political leaders need to explain and address the “serious threats to security, that terrorism needs a globally coordinated response, that proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery remain existential threats to global security.” He also pointed to the “unresolved conflicts in the wider Black Sea area that pose serious threats to the region itself and to the international security.” At the same time, the president spoke of the challenges of climate change and how the Security Council, while having international peace keeping and security as its primary responsibility, could create the framework to address climate related risks in an integrated manner. He mentioned that Romania will host in April 2019 an international conference on “Building resilience to natural disasters”, meant as a “platform to exchange views on how to assess and address more effectively climate-related security risks and to enhance the base for a resilient future.” President: Romania can be a regional energy platform (Photo: presidency.ro) editor@romania-insider.com