Romania will further develop bilateral and sectoral collaboration with the Arab states, the Romanian Foreign Affairs minister Bogdan Aurescu said on Tuesday, at welcoming the representatives of the Group of Arab Ambassadors accredited in Bucharest, informs a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, sent to Agerpres.

„The meeting was a very good opportunity to reiterate our country’s firm commitment and interest in further developing bilateral and sectoral cooperation with the Arab states, with which Romania shares a traditional and solid friendship,” the MAE release says.

The discussions focused on the latest developments in the Black Sea region and the Middle East, with emphasis on Romania’s efforts to promote peace and stability at the regional and global level. In this context, the head of Romanian diplomacy made a comprehensive presentation of the challenges created by Russia’s illegal, unjustified and unprovoked military aggression against Ukraine, as well as the multidimensional efforts undertaken by Romania in order to mitigate the negative effects, at the global level, caused by the „irresponsible” behavior of Russia, including in terms of food security, the press release states.

Minister Bogdan Aurescu informed about the measures adopted by the Bucharest Government to facilitate the export of agricultural products from Ukraine, which led to the consolidation of Romania’s position as an important transit route for Ukrainian grain exports, a large part of which are destined for the countries from the Middle East and Africa.

He also referred to the exceptional humanitarian efforts and exemplary mobilization of the Romanian authorities and society for the reception of Ukrainian refugees. The safe transit of nearly 2.3 million Ukrainian refugees and nearly 30,000 citizens of over 100 third countries, including Arab states, who fled the war, was ensured, Aurescu said.

Remembering that this military conflict has repercussions not only on Europe, but also on the multiple crises affecting security in the Middle East, Minister Bogdan Aurescu emphasized the need for the entire international community to condemn such flagrant violations of international law, to promote compliance with the UN Charter and of the basic principles of the international order, as well as the importance of solidarity at the global level, the MAE added.

At the same time, Aurescu reaffirmed Romania’s firm commitment to achieving peace in the Middle East, the peaceful resolution of crises and the economic-social recovery of our country’s partners in the region. The minister pointed out that Romania expects solidarity for the security situation in the Black Sea area, but, reciprocally, it also shows solidarity in relation to the crises in the Middle East, which also affect European and Euro-Atlantic security.

The members of the group, in their turn, made a presentation of the security situation in the Middle East, as well as the prospects for resuming the Peace Process. In this context, the Minister of Foreign Affairs reiterated Romania’s position regarding the sustainable solution, based on the two states, Israel and Palestine, to coexist in peace and security, as the only natural option to meet the interests of the two parties and emphasized the need for concerted efforts, at the international level, in order to obtain credible results in this file and discouraged any unilateral measures.

The delegation of Arab ambassadors, led by the dean of the group, Rana Mokaddem, the ambassador of the Lebanese Republic, was formed by Talal M. Alhajeri, the Ambassador of the State of Kuwait, Raja Jhinaoui Ben Ali, the ambassador of the Tunisian Republic, Sufyan Qudah, the ambassador of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Mohammed Abdulghani M. Khayat, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Moayad Fatallah Eldalie, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Osama Yousef A. A. Alqaradawi, Ambassador of the State of Qatar, Abdulmuli Monem, Ambassador of the State of Libya, Sultan Mohamed Majed Alali, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates, Bakir Ahmed Aziz, Ambassador of the Republic of Iraq, Aida Sid Mohammed Ali Omer, Charge d’Affairs a.i. of the Republic of Sudan, Yacine Khene, Charge d’Affairs a.i. of the Democratic and People’s Republic of Algeria, Wissam Fattouh, Charge d’Affairs a.i. of Palestine, and Abderrahim Ait Slimane, first collaborator in the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco.

Agerpres