Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, accompanied by a delegation of ministers, will pay an official visit to Ankara on Tuesday at the invitation of Republic of Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

According to a Government press release, the official visit is a key moment since the establishment of the Strategic Partnership between Romania and Turkey, in December 2011, by making operational the High Level Strategic Cooperation Council, the equivalent of joint government meetings.

The Council will be coordinated by the prime Minister of Romania and the president of the Republic of Turkey and will play a catalytic role in strengthening cooperation in strategic areas of common interest, developing the Strategic Partnership at all levels, as well as expanding cooperation within the framework of regional cooperation.

The political declaration also includes the creation of a bilateral dialogue mechanism, namely the ‘Political Dialogue Group’ at the level of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, under the coordination of foreign ministers, the press release said.

„The launch of the High Level Strategic Cooperation Council underlines the commitment of Romania and Turkey to strengthen bilateral relations both politically and economically, the basic pillar of our cooperation. Turkey is Romania’s main non-EU trading partner and the first extra-EU destination for Romanian exports. Through future projects in energy, transport, agriculture, agri-food and defence industry we aim to increase trade to 15 billion dollars,” Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu was quoted as saying in the press release.

In 2023, bilateral trade amounted to over 10 billion dollars. Turkish investments in Romania ranked 14th in terms of country of residence of investors, with 18,755 companies running on Turkish capital in March 2024, the source said.

During the visit, the ministers who will accompany the prime minister will have meetings with their Turkish counterparts to develop joint projects between the two countries.

A series of Agreements and Memoranda of Understanding will also be signed on sectoral cooperation in areas such as social security, SMEs, tourism, functional aspects of the work of the diplomatic missions of the two countries and urban planning.

In the context of the official visit, the head of the Executive in Bucharest will lay a wreath at the Mausoleum dedicated to the founding President of the Republic of Turkey Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, within the Anitkabir complex in Ankara and will attend the working dinner offered in honour of the Romanian delegation by President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Joining the prime minister as part of the official delegation will be Deputy Prime Minister Marian Neacsu, Minister of Foreign Affairs Luminita Odobescu, Minister of National Defence Angel Tilvar, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Sorin Grindeanu, Minister of Justice Alina Gorghiu, Minister of Education Ligia Deca, Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Tourism Radu Oprea, Minister of Development, Public Works and Administration Adrian Vstea, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Florin Barbu, Minister of Health Alexandru Rafila, Minister of Labour and Social Solidarity Simona Oprescu, and National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority (ANSVSA) President Alexandru Bociu.

AGERPRES