In New York attending UN General Assembly session, ForMin Melescanu meets US senior officials

Romania's Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu met senior US and UN officials on the side-lines of the general debates of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA73).

According to the Romanian Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE), the head of the Romanian diplomacy had a meeting with Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support Oscar Fernandez-Taranco.

He thanked the UN Peacebuilding Secretariat for support to Romania while chairing the UN Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), commending the significant role of this collaboration in the activities of this UN body.

At the same time, Melescanu pointed out that the activities of the commission are and will continue to be a major point of interest for Romania, as Romania has a long tradition of supporting a multilateral approach, international law and the UN. He assured Taranco that Romania will continue to honour this tradition and will remain an engaged actor at the UN level, and the organisation will be able to count on Romania's support for future activities.

The UN official appreciated commended Romania for its continued involvement in the organisation and for its role in the field of international peace and security through its continued and significant participation in UN peacekeeping missions. Taranco also highlighted the very good work of Romania during its tenure at the Peacebuilding Commission and ensured that the UN Peacebuilding Secretariat will continue to provide support to Romania's fulfilling the objectives of its tenure.

Melescanu also met US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Wess Mitchell.

During the meeting, he stressed the importance of Romania's bid to become a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), appreciating the US support to Romania's joining OECD. Melescanu assured that Romania has the capacity to contribute to the consolidation of the organisation.

Melescanu thanked the US secretary of commerce for attending the Summit of the Three Seas Initiative in Romania, and for the special interest he attaches to this form of regional co-operation. He once again highlighted the role that the initiative can play in strengthening the transatlantic partnership, especially in the current global context, noting the capacity of this form of regional co-operation to encourage a stronger US economic presence in Europe.

The two dignitaries highlighted the importance of Bucharest having hosted in 2017 the Trade Winds Economic Forum, the largest trade mission of the US Department of Commerce. It was mentioned that this event placed Romania as a centre of economic interest throughout the region.

During his meeting with the US assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs, Melescanu reiterated the importance Romania attaches to its strategic partnership with the United States of America. Meanwhile, ways of deepening it were addressed, especially in the security and economic areas. Another important issue was the US-EU relationship, with Melescanu assuring the American partners that Romania remains a strong promoter of the transatlantic relationship at European level.

Melescanu stressed that Romania will continue to be a committed ally of the US rooted in shared values and will continue to support the common regional security interests. At the same time, the head of the Romanian diplomacy expressed the wish of Romanian officials to strengthen Romania's position as a pillar of stability and security in the region, as well as the need to identify new bilateral co-operation projects with the USA bilaterally, regionally and multilaterally.

Melescanu also met his Omani counterpart Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah. The two officials exchanged views on the recent developments in the Middle East and voiced their common desire to deepen political and economic co-operation between the two countries. Melescanu presented to his Omani counterpart investment opportunities offered by the Romanian economic environment, underscoring Romania's openness to identify ways to develop co-operation in the areas of IT, agriculture, healthcare, tourism, and shipbuilding. AGERPRES (RO - author: Oana Ghita, editor: Florin Marin; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Adina Panaitescu)

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