Romanian President’s Visit to Germany
President Nicuşor Dan paid his first formal visit to Germany, currently Romania's largest trading partner and most important foreign investor
Roxana Vasile, 21.07.2025, 14:00
Romania and Germany signed a joint action plan in Berlin at the end of last week, focusing on security and economic policies, cooperation at the European Union and NATO level, support for Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, and Romania’s accession to the OECD. The event took place in the presence of President Nicuşor Dan and Chancellor Friedrich Merz, during the Romanian head of state’s official visit to Germany. President Dan said:
“Romania and Germany have a long history of partnership. More than history and the number of years, I believe that we are bound by certain values. And based on these values, today, through the action plan we have signed, we have outlined the directions in which our future cooperation will take place. We discussed the economic area at length, as the Chancellor said. Germany is Romania’s main trading partner, and we want this economic cooperation to develop in the coming years. In particular, we discussed the opportunities that exist for the defense industry in this new context in which we find ourselves. We discussed the possibility of collaborating within the European Union’s SAFE program. We discussed Romania’s cooperation with Germany and the support Germany has given it in various international structures, including the OECD, which, as you know, Romania wants to join at the end of next year. We discussed the war in Ukraine and the possibility for us and our partners, on the one hand, to help Ukraine and, on the other hand, through economic pressure and military support for Ukraine, to bring Russia to the negotiating table.ʺ
The Romanian president announced that advanced negotiations are underway between Rheinmetall, a German arms manufacturer, and the Romarm factory in Mediaș, central Romania, for a joint venture in ammunition production. Also in Berlin, Nicușor Dan held talks with his counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier, focusing on deepening Romanian-German dialogue and cooperation and continuing bilateral cooperation within the European Union and NATO.
The official program included meetings with German businesspeople and representatives of the Romanian community in Germany. There are over 1 million Romanians living and working there, making them the largest minority in this country that comes from a European Union member state. Nicușor Dan acknowledged that there are many things that the Romanian state still needs to improve in its relationship with the diaspora. There is not more than one Romania, and all those who work honestly across the border are a calling card for their mother country. And the state is responsible for its citizens, said President Nicușor Dan in Berlin. (MI)
