The 8th Meeting of the Strategic Dialogue between Romania and the United States of America, held on Tuesday, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE), was completed by the adoption of a joint Declaration of the two states, whose main conclusion is the importance of transatlantic unity in preventing any future aggression and allowing reaching the full potential of the Black Sea as a strategic connection between Europe and Central Asia, write Agerpres.

According to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Strategic Dialogue session, led by the Romanian Secretary of State for Strategic Affairs, Iulian Fota, and the principal deputy of the US Assistant Secretary of State, Dereck Hogan, examined the state of collaboration and the main lines of bilateral cooperation in the major fields of Romania-US Strategic Partnership: political, defense, energy, economy, strengthening of interpersonal relations.

At the same time, the agenda of the Strategic Dialogue included sessions dedicated to some important topics for the bilateral dialogue, such as strategic projects in the field of nuclear energy and the perspectives of renewable energy production, the accession of our country to the Visa Waiver program, issues of priority interest in economic and commercial collaboration, cooperation in the judicial and police fields, the fight against human trafficking, the process of Romania’s accession to the OECD.

At the end of the 8th Meeting of the Strategic Dialogue between Romania and the United States of America, the two delegations adopted a joint Declaration.

One year after the start of the unjustified and unprovoked war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, we are facing challenges to European security, with far-reaching effects for the Ukrainian people and global effects regarding energy and food security. The brutal invasion launched by the Russian Federation is an attack on Ukraine’s sovereignty and on the rules-based international order, the document states.

It mentions that the Romanian and American delegations paid special attention to the potential risk of the destabilizing actions of the Russian Federation in the Black Sea region, especially to the security and stability of the Republic of Moldova.

At the same time, Romania and the United States analyzed the progress made within the Strategic Dialogue, including joint efforts to support Ukraine, the Ukrainian people and the wider region.

According to the joint Declaration, as the main conclusion of the Strategic Dialogue, Romania and the United States highlight the importance of transatlantic unity in preventing any future aggression and allowing the full potential of the Black Sea to be reached as a strategic connection between Europe and Central Asia.

The two sides emphasized the importance of paying special attention to cooperation within NATO, for a stronger consolidation of defense and deterrence in the Black Sea region, an area of strategic importance for the Alliance. The two sides evaluated bilateral cooperation in the field of energy, taking note the significant progress made in the flagship projects: the civil nuclear projects at Cernavoda and the small modular reactor at Doicesti. They emphasized the increased relevance of these projects for the resilience of the Black Sea region, in the context of Russia’s attempts to use the energy supply as weapon, the joint Declaration states.

Last but not least, according to the document, Romania and the United States remain committed to working together to support Romania’s efforts to meet the criteria established by law for the admission of our country to the Visa Waiver program. The dialogue that was initiated in 2021 on this subject, at the level of experts and at the political level, will continue.

The Declaration emphasizes that this 8th round of the Strategic Dialogue hosted in Bucharest included high-level representatives of both governments.

Source: AGERPRES