MINISTER TITUS CORLĂŢEAN’S MEETING WITH LITHUANIAN COUNTERPART LINAS LINKEVIČIUS, IN THE CONTEXT OF THE LATTER’S PARTICIPATION IN THE ANNUAL MEETING OF ROMANIAN DIPLOMACY
Foreign Minister Titus Corlăţean met on 28 August 2013 with Lithuanian counterpart Linas Linkevičius, representative of the current Presidency of the EU Council, in the context of the Lithuanian official’s participation in the Annual Meeting of Romanian Diplomacy, which is being held in Bucharest between 27 and 29 August.
The two ministers highlighted the excellent relations between Romania and the Republic of Lithuania, voicing their satisfaction with the sustained pace of the bilateral dialogue. Both officials hailed the consistency and increased rate of high-level contacts between the two countries, during 2013. Thus, the schedule of high-level meetings was very dynamic, the Bucharest visit of Minister Linkevičius taking place only three months after the official visit to Lithuania by the Romanian Foreign Minister (29 May 2013) and preceding the working visit of the Romanian Prime Minister, Victor Ponta, to Vilnius in September 2013.
The agenda of the talks between the heads of the two countries’ diplomacies comprised themes of bilateral, European and international interest. The interlocutors noted with satisfaction the convergence of the two countries’ positions and interests related to the themes they approached, notably in connection with the ambitious results expected from the Eastern Partnership Summit to be held in Vilnius in autumn, particularly in connection with the Republic of Moldova.
The head of Romanian diplomacy expressed Romania’s support for the priorities of the Lithuanian Presidency of the EU Council (second half of 2013). Moreover, the Romanian Foreign Minister insisted on the importance Romania attaches to Lithuania’s further supporting Romania as to its goal of joining the Schengen Area.
The Romanian Foreign Minister underscored the importance Romania attaches to the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, reiterating the invitation for the Lithuanian minister of attend the foreign ministers’ meeting in the margin of the Annual Forum due on 28 and 29 October 2013 in Bucharest. It was agreed to consolidate the exchange of good practices between the Danube Strategy and the Baltic Strategy, given that these European cooperation mechanisms are valuable in increasing cohesion and prosperity in the European Union.
In the context of the exchange of views on EU enlargement, the interlocutors underscored that the Lithuanian Presidency of the EU and the Romanian Chairmanship-in-Office of SEECP hold out the opportunity of advancing the process of European integration of South-Eastern Europe.
The two ministers moreover assessed the situation in crisis zones, particularly Syria.
