The process of Romania’s accession to the Schengen Area, the development of bilateral relations, as well as the intensification of cooperation at the multilateral level, especially within the UN, in the context in which Malta took over the rotating Presidency of the UN Security Council were the main topics addressed by Foreign Minister Aurescu and his Maltese counterpart, Ian Borg, in a telephone conversation, Agerpres informs.

Bogdan Aurescu conveyed „the special appreciation for Malta’s constant support for Romania’s accession to the Schengen Area and informed his Maltese counterpart about the recent steps taken on the diplomatic level in order to achieve this objective, in the dialogue with the Austrian side, with the Swedish presidency of the Council of the EU and with counterparts from most of the member states”, informs the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) in a press release sent to Agerpres.

Ian Borg reiterated Malta’s support for Romania’s accession to the Schengen area, saying that „there is no reason for it to be unduly delayed, considering that Romania is fully prepared, meeting all the necessary criteria”.

The Maltese official assured that our country can fully count on Malta’s availability to use all channels in the dialogue with the other European partners on this issue, Romania’s accession bringing a benefit to all member states.

The two heads of diplomacy agreed to continue coordination within the UN and other international organizations, as part of the efforts to support Ukraine, with an emphasis on the preparation of the events envisaged within the UN Security Council and General Assembly on the occasion of the one-year anniversary since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, on February 24.

Moreover, Bogdan Aurescu thanked his counterpart for the invitation recently received from the Maltese Presidency of the Security Council to participate as a keynote speaker in the UN Security Council at the event organized by it on February 14, with the topic „Threats to International Peace and Security : Sea-Level Rise – Implications for International Peace and Security”, both as Minister of Foreign Affairs and co-chairman of the Study Group on sea-level rise in relation to international law.

Agerpres