Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Bogdan Aurescu had a meeting on Wednesday with Antonio Tajani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy, in which they agreed to organize a new joint meeting of the two governments, according to Agerpres.

According to a press release sent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE), the two officials also established the organization of a business forum on the sidelines of the joint meeting, „which would give an additional boost to the multi-sectoral cooperation between the two countries”.

During the meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers in Bucharest, the two ministers expressed their satisfaction with the dynamics of the development of bilateral cooperation within the Romania-Italy Consolidated Strategic Partnership, agreeing that there is a consistent potential for expanding relations between the two countries in all areas of common interest.

The officials welcomed the consolidation of the upward trend of commercial exchanges this year, of about 20 percent in the first eight months, which comes after a record value registered in bilateral trade in 2021, namely 16.55 billion euros, as well as the substantial cooperation at the level business communities and inter-human relations, the valuable contribution of the numerous community of Romanians in Italy being brought to mind, the cited source mentions.

As regards cooperation in the field of security, Minister Bogdan Aurescu thanked for Italy’s constant contribution to ensuring the security of our country, by participating in air policing missions in Romania. The Romanian official also thanked his counterpart for Italy’s „firm support” on Romania’s accession to the Schengen Area and the swiftest possible adoption of a decision in this regard, reads the MAE press release.

In his turn, the Italian official reconfirmed Italy’s firm support for our country’s accession to the Schengen area and thanked Romania for its constant support for reducing the migratory pressure that Italy feels, the aforementioned press release also states.

The governments of Romania and Italy held two joint meetings. The first took place in 2008, in Rome, and the second took place on May 30, 2011, in Bucharest.

Agerpres