Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, accompanied by a delegation of ministers, will be in Ankara on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, on an official visit, at the invitation of the President of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. “Turkey is Romania’s main non-EU trade partner. We set out to increase trade to $15 billion,” the Romanian prime minister said.
The official visit is a key moment since the establishment of the Strategic Partnership between Romania and Turkey, in December 2011, through the operationalization of the High Level Strategic Cooperation Council, the equivalent of joint government meetings, according to a statement sent by the Romanian Government on Monday.The Council will be coordinated by the Prime Minister of Romania and the President of the Republic of Turkey and will have a catalytic role for the consolidation of cooperation in strategic areas of common interest, the development of the Strategic Partnership at all levels, but also the expansion of collaboration within regional cooperation.
The political declaration also includes the creation of a bilateral dialogue mechanism, namely the “Political Dialogue Group” at the MAE level, under the coordination of the foreign ministers. During the visit, the ministers who will accompany the prime minister will have meetings with their Turkish counterparts in order to develop joint projects between the two states.
A series of Agreements and Memorandums of Understanding will be signed regarding sectoral cooperation in areas such as social security, SMEs, tourism, functional aspects regarding the activity of the diplomatic missions of the two countries and urban planning.
“The launch of the High Level Strategic Cooperation Council underlines the commitment of Romania and Turkey to strengthen bilateral relations both politically and economically, a basic pillar of our cooperation. Turkey is Romania’s main non-EU trade partner and the first non-EU destination of Romanian exports. Through the future projects in energy, transport, agriculture, agri-food industry and defense, we aimed to increase trade to 15 billion dollars”, said Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu.
Last year, the bilateral trade amounted to more than 10 billion dollars. Turkish investments in Romania ranked 14th in terms of investors’ country of residence, with 18,755 companies with Turkish capital in March 2024.
Together with the head of the Executive, Deputy Prime Minister Marian Neacșu, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luminiţa Odobescu, Minister of National Defense, Angel Tîlvăr, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Sorin Grindeanu, Minister of Justice, Alina Gorghiu, Minister of Education, Ligia Deca, Minister of Economy, will participate. of Entrepreneurship and Tourism, Radu Oprea, Minister of Development, Public Works and Administration, Adrian Veștea, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Florin Barbu, Minister of Health, Alexandru Rafila, Minister of Labor and Social Solidarity, Simona Oprescu, President of ANSVSA, Alexandru Bociu.
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