Extended cooperation Romania – Turkey
The Romanian Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, participated in the first joint meeting of the governments of Romania and Turkey in Ankara.
Sorin Iordan, 22.05.2024, 14:00
Romanians will be able to go to Turkey, for a maximum of 90 days, without a passport, only with their identity card. The decision was made by the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the context of the official visit that the Romanian prime minister, Marcel Ciolacu, paid to Ankara. The Prime Minister of Romania participated, together with the Turkish head of state, in the first joint meeting of the Governments of Romania and Turkey. In this context, the expansion of cooperation in the fields of the defense industry and energy was discussed, and a decision was made that Romanian farmers would resume the export and transit of meat to Turkey. PM Ciolacu said that this decision would help Romanian farmers to have access to a very large market again and to be able to open new trade routes in the region.
Marcel Ciolacu: “It is a huge opportunity for Romanian producers to have access to a huge market, but, at the same time, we will be able to establish solid trade routes also with other areas of interest in the region and the Middle East. We need such measures in order to achieve the ambitious targets that we have set in the economic domain. Last year we exceeded 10 billion dollars in terms of economic exchanges, but together we set an ambitious target of 15 billion dollars that we are going to reach in the coming years.”
The Romanian PM said that Romania will continue to ensure a good collaboration between Turkey and the European Union, in the context in which its accession to the EU has been blocked for several years due to numerous divergences in the field of democracy, the rule of law and the fundamental rights. At the same time, he proposed to the Turkish side a partnership formula that would allow the transfer of technology and know-how, so that Romanian companies should be able to produce in Romania components for Bayraktar military drones and Otokar armored tactical vehicles. Last but not least, PM Ciolacu declared that the administrations from Bucharest and Ankara are holding talks related to Romania recuperating the sword of the Moldavian ruler Stephen the Great. The weapon, received from Pope Sixtus IV, in recognition of Moldavia’s decisive role in the defense of Christianity, came into the possession of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century.
In turn, Recep Tayyip Erdogan emphasized that economic ties are the driving force of bilateral relations and thanked Romania for granting full rights to the Turkish minority, which numbers almost 28,000 people. He recalled that Romania and Turkey contribute to ensuring security and stability in the Black Sea region, as well as within NATO. The Turkish President has also stated that the two states, together with Bulgaria, have formed a joint group that will remove mines from the Black Sea in order to increase the safety of navigation. (LS)
