President Iohannis: Romania - USA diplomatic relations, stronger than ever

Diplomatic relations between Romania and the United States of America are, 140 years since their establishment, stronger "than ever," President Klaus Iohannis said in a message sent on Sunday. "The two states have come a long way together, but it has also been a process of extraordinary complexity, which has seen a steady and consistent development in recent decades, now reaching an unprecedented level of excellence, supported by a dense political dialogue and a very efficient cooperation," said the head of state, according to the Presidential Administration. President Iohannis added that "both the sharing of democratic values and the dedication of successive generations of politicians, diplomats, artists, representatives of many professional and social bodies to strengthen bilateral cooperation" have contributed to these developments. "My fruitful and substantial dialogue in recent years with President Donald Trump has brought beneficial results to the relationship between our countries and our peoples," he maintained. According to Iohannis, "for Romania, the United States of America has proved, especially in the last two decades, that they are the firm ally we need in important moments, thus steadily accompanying us on the path chosen by our country to strengthen the security and prosperity of its citizens." The head of state went on to say that "Romania has shaped its profile as a reliable partner and active NATO ally, which assumes strong commitments and contributes to the common security alongside the United States, through consistent participation in missions such as Afghanistan or by strengthening the defense on the eastern flank of the Alliance." "The progressive character of our bilateral relations is highlighted by our Strategic Partnership for the 21st Century, an essential dimension of Romania's foreign policy, which offers broad perspectives of cooperation in a wide range of areas - political, security, economic, research, technology, science and education, interpersonal contacts," he said. According to Iohannis, "the vitality of the partnership has been reconfirmed in the last year, including by adding new spheres of cooperation in high-tech fields, with economic, social and political implications for the next decade - as shown by the Joint Declaration I adopted with the President of the United States on August 20, 2019, during my visit to the White House." Klaus Iohannis also mentioned the efforts to combat the effects of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, a context in which the two countries provided mutual assistance. "The privileged relationship within the Strategic Partnership offers us a solid benchmark in the context of a world in a profound and rapid change, a world dominated by many security challenges, to which was added, this year, the fight that all states of the world have waged against the COVID-19 pandemic Once again, in such a complex context, Romania and the USA have been able to give the measure of the strength and solidarity in our bilateral relationship, by helping each other and practically demonstrating the value of joint action to the benefit of their own citizens," the president further underlined. According to him, "140 years since their establishment, diplomatic relations between Romania and the United States are stronger than ever." "As President of Romania, I am deeply committed, both personally and on behalf of my country, to deepening and further developing the Romanian-American Strategic Partnership and the transatlantic partnership," he said. AGERPRES (RO - author: Oana Ghita, editor: Claudia Stanescu; EN - author/editor: Simona Iacob)