Talks on the Eastern Flank
On the sidelines of the OECD Conference in Paris, Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu had talks with his French counterpart, Catherine Colonna
Mihai Pelin, 10.06.2022, 13:50
The
consequences of the war in Ukraine on global economy, the construction of a
better future for young people, with responsible, eco-friendly trade, were
among the topics on the agenda of the annual meeting of the Ministerial Council
of the Organization for Economic and Cooperation Development (OECD). Foreign
Minister, Bogdan Aurescu, who for the first time represented Romania as an OECD
candidate country, received the roadmap with all the reforms, some of them
extremely important, that Romania must implement in order to join the select
club of 38 states with developed economies. On the sidelines of the event, Minister
Aurescu met with France’s new Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs,
Catherine Colonna. Talks focused on hot topics on the European and global
agenda, with a focus on the security developments in Ukraine and the multiple
consequences of the war in this country. Bogdan Aurescu highlighted the
excellent relations between Romania and France, defined under the Strategic
Partnership renewed in 2018 with the signing of the Political Declaration by presidents
Klaus Iohannis and Emmanuel Macron, and whose development guidelines were
detailed in the Roadmap signed in 2020.
At the same time, Bogdan Aurescu
reiterated Romania’s gratitude for France’s contribution to strengthening
NATO’s deterrence and defense postures on the Alliance’s eastern flank by
deploying French military to Romania, arguing this effort represents a clear
confirmation of Allied solidarity and France’s constant commitment to ensuring
the security of Allied states, including Romania, thus consolidating the
Strategic Partnership between the two countries. In this context, the two
ministers argued in favor of rendering operational the NATO battlegroup in
Romania under French command. As regards the NATO summit in Madrid at the end
of the month, the two ministers expressed support for the NATO accession of
Sweden and Finland, which will help consolidate Allied security. In terms of
security cooperation at bilateral level, the two officials also discussed the
importance of organizing a 2+2 meeting at the level of the two countries’
foreign and defense ministries, especially in terms of consolidating efforts in
the new security context.
On the other hand, the French official expressed
appreciation for the way in which Romania provided support to Ukraine at
various levels, while the Romanian Minister underscored the need to support the
Republic of Moldova in its efforts to cope with a number of effects of the
Russian aggression in Ukraine. At the same time, Minister Aurescu reiterated
the EU’s support for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, as well as the start of
negotiations talks with Albania and North Macedonia. (VP)
