President Iohannis meets six Ambassadors

President Klaus Iohannis welcomed on Tuesday at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan Najafov Huseyn Nizami, Ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Dang Tran Phong, Ambassador of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay Omar Nestor Mesa Gonzalez, Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey Fusun Aramaz, Ambassador of the State of Israel David Saranga and Ambassador of the Republic of Turkmenistan Annamammet Annayev, on the occasion of their presentation of the copies of the letters of credence.

According to a release of the Presidential Administration, on the occasion of the meeting with the Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the head of state evoked the good bilateral relations, the Strategic Partnership between the two countries and encouraged their development, especially in the economic area to the benefit of both states. Moreover, President Iohannis underscored Romania's support, as the Presidency of the EU Council, for advancing the relations between the European Union and Azerbaijan. In his turn, Azerbaijan's Ambassador stressed his country's commitment for strengthening the Strategic Partnership, including at economic level, which reaches a decade in 2019 since its launch.

During the discussion with Vietnamese Ambassador, the head of state expressed Romania's openness to contribute to the strengthening of the political dialogue between the two countries, evoking the good traditional Vietnamese-Romanian relationships. Vietnam's Ambassdor mentioned his and his county's commitment to strengthen cooperation with Romania, especially in the economic area, but also at scientific and technological level.

In the dialogue with the Ambassador of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, the two high officials voiced their satisfaction for the positive trend of the bilateral relations, being based on mutual respect and cooperation. President Klaus Iohannis evoked the potential to improve the bilateral relations, especially in view of collaborating at economic and cultural level.

Within the meeting with Turkey's Ambassador, President Iohannis highlighted the solidarity of the Strategic Partnership between the two countries and hailed the upward trend of commercial exchanges, as well as the cooperation on regional topics. In this context, the head of state underscored the importance of cooperating in the security sphere, as strategic partners and allies inside NATO, in a difficult regional context, especially in the Black Sea region. Taking into account that Turkey is a candidate country and key partner of the European Union in various areas, such as migration, President Iohannis voiced the availability to support the development of the EU-Turkey dialogue in a manner acceptable for both parties. In her turn, Turkey's Ambassador voiced her country's wish to deepen the bilateral Strategic Partnership and reiterated the fact that the accession to the EU represents a strategic objective for Turkey.

On the occasion of welcoming the Ambassador of the State of Israel, Iohannis mentioned that the State of Israel is an important partner of Romania, with the relation between the two countries being a special one and on growing trend, thus, he encouraged the additional efforts of both states at economic level. Moreover, the head of state underscored his very good relations with the Jewish community of Romania, mentioning that increased efforts are necessary to combat anti-Semitism and xenophobia. In this regard, he emphasised on the essential role of education and the importance of a wider involvement in fighting these phenomena. Moreover, Iohannis evoked the very good visit he paid to Israel in 2016, and the openness he made in terms of the bilateral relations.

The Israeli Ambassador especially commended the bilateral relation, as well as the manner in which President Klaus Iohannis gets personally involved in combating anti-Semitism, xenophobia, as well as in promoting tolerance, an effort that enjoys all the appreciation of Israel's leadership and which can establish a genuine model for other states. In addition, Ambassador David Saranga voiced his commitment for the development of the economic relations, with an emphasis on innovation, new technologies and start-ups. The two officials also tackled the stage of the Middle East Peace Process, with President Iohannis voicing hope for some positive development and our country's support based on its known standpoints, for advancing this process.

During the meeting with Turkmenistan's Agreed Ambassador, President Iohannis highlighted the level of the bilateral partnership relations, encouraging progresses in terms of economic cooperation, namely in the areas of education and culture. The head of state mentioned that a special role falls to interconnectivity projects, such as the Black Sea - the Caspian Sea Transportation Corridor, initiated by Romania and Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan's Ambassador underscored the very good bilateral cooperation in various areas, such as education. The Turkmen official also noted the progress made in implementing the Black Sea - the Caspian Sea Transport Corridor, including in the context of the new "EU Strategy for Central Asia: Connectivity in support of sustainable development," to be launched during Romania's Presidency at EU Council.

President Klaus Iohannis welcomed each ambassador and wished them success in fulfilling their mandate, assuring them of the entire support of the Romanian authorities in this regard. AGERPRES (RO - author: Florentina Peia, editor: Mihai Simionescu; EN - author: Rodica State, editor: Adina Panaitescu)