The importance of economic cooperation as a pillar of the bilateral relationship between Romania and Italy was highlighted by prime minister Marcel Ciolacu on Wednesday, when welcoming the visiting Italian president Sergio Mattarella.

„Italy is a strategic partner and close friend of Romania. Our strengthened partnership is based on particularly close political, economic and cultural relations and has become stronger through the presence in Italy of one of the largest Romanian communities and, in Romania, of the historical community and active society of Italian businesspersons,” Marcel Ciolacu said, according to a press release sent to AGERPRES.

Marcel Ciolacu stressed that the joint government meeting held on February 15, 2024 in Rome, the third meeting in this format, is a proof of the strategic and privileged nature of the bilateral relationship.

An important point of Wednesday’s discussions at the Victoria Palace referred to the Romanians in Italy.

Economic cooperation was another important topic of the dialogue, given that last year bilateral trade registered a record value, exceeding 20 billion euros.

„Italy is Romania’s second trading partner, the second destination market for Romanian exports and the second country of origin for imports into our country,” Ciolacu said.

The gov’t’s head also appreciated the excellent level of bilateral cooperation and dialogue in the field of security and defense and thanked president Sergio Mattarella for Italy’s participation in the Enhanced Air Police mission and in the joint training programmes with the pilots of the Romanian Air Force, in the period 2021 – 2023.

In this context, the Romanian official showed that Italy can make a substantial contribution to Romania’s vision of transforming the Black Sea into an area of peace, security and connectivity, by developing cooperation between states with common interests in the region, on the one hand, and between them and the Euro-Atlantic community, with the support of NATO and the EU, on the other hand.

Also, the Romanian prime minister appreciated Italy’s efforts to include and promote Ukraine’s support on the G7 reunion agenda, emphasizing, at the same time, that the security of the Republic of Moldova is closely connected to the stability of the Black Sea region.

„The advancement of the enlargement process both with regard to the candidates from the Western Balkans and those from the East – Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, the consolidation of the internal market, convergence and competitiveness, the next EU budget and the Schengen extension are of particular importance for Romania in the future institutional cycle,” Marcel Ciolacu added.

In 2024, Romania and Italy celebrate the 145th anniversary of the establishment of legate-level diplomatic relationships, as well as the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the embassy-level relations.

AGERPRES