ForMin Melescanu meets Slovak PM and counterpart

Foreign Affairs Minister Teodor Melescanu participated on Tuesday as guest of honour in the opening of the Slovak diplomacy meeting, on the sidelines of which he had meetings with Slovak PM Peter Pellegrini and his Slovak counterpart Miroslav Lajcak.

In his speech held in the opening of the Slovak diplomacy meeting, Melescanu approached the current situation in the EU, with a focus on Europe's future and the role the EU plays on a global level, starting from the multitude of interests and common positions of Romania and Slovakia, a Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) release sent to AGERPRES informs.

In this context, it was highlighted the need of a coordinated response to the current challenges on the EU agenda. Melescanu underscored the importance of making more efficient the activity of the European institutions and that of the decision-makers, meant to respond in the first place to the priorities of the European citizens and better reconnect to their expectations. The Romanian Foreign Minister also referred to the EU's special role in consolidating and adapting multilateralism, with a highlight on a closer collaboration between the EU and the UN, and on the importance of the transatlantic relation.

In the discussion with the Slovak PM, Melescanu highlighted the very good level of the bilateral relation and the wish to strengthen cooperation between the two states. The Slovak side reiterated the appreciation for the heroism of the Romanian soldiers who fought for the liberation of Slovakia's territory during WWII, the release mentions.

The consultations with the Slovak counterpart, Miroslav Lajcak, stressed the convergence of the two countries' stand on European, regional and international common interest topics, on the grounds of the very close and dynamic bilateral relation. Moreover, they evoked the cooperation potential in the prospects of Romania's holding the EU Council Presidency and Slovakia's holding the OSCE Chairmanship-in-Office in the coming period. Melescanu hailed the special role played by Miroslav Lajcak as chairman of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly, with the importance of multilateralism in the current international context being underscored.

In the context of Romania's celebrating in 2018 the Greater Union Centennial and Slovakia's celebrating its independence, as well as marking 50 years since the Prague Spring, the Romanian ForMin pointed out the need to further coordinate the defence of the common strategic interests on a European, regional and transatlantic level.

The presence in the Slovak Republic of Romanian Foreign Minister Melescanu coincided with the commemoration of 50 years since Czechoslovakia was occupied by the troops of the Warsaw Pact. Minister Melescanu laid a wreath of flowers at the memorial plaque devoted to the victims of 21 August 1968, and participated in the opening of a photo exhibition depicting those historic moments. AGERPRES (RO - author: Florentina Peia, editor: Antonia Nita; EN - author: Adina Panaitescu, editor: Cristina Zaharia)