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Foreign Minister Titus Corlăţean, received by the President of the
Republic of Croatia, Ivo Josipovic
[Source: 02/05/14 (May 2,
2014) Press release, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Guvernul Româiniei -
https://www.mae.ro/en/node/24678.]
Foreign Minister Titus Corlăţean was
received on 5 February 2014 by the President of the Republic of Croatia,
Ivo Josipovic, as part of the Romanian Minister’s official visit to that
country.
On the occasion, the two officials
discussed about the excellent level of the bilateral relations, the
dynamics of the political-diplomatic dialogue in recent times, in light
of Croatia’s recent accession to the European Union, as well as the
potential to develop the economic cooperation, based on enhanced trade
exchanges and investment. Given the declining trend in commercial
exchanges, the two officials agreed that the relevant authorities in
both states needed to undertake specific measures to reinvigorate trade.
The two officials tackled aspects pertaining to consolidating economic
cooperation, by using regional tools and the framework provided by the
two countries’ membership of the European family. The Foreign Minister
underscored the importance of deepening cooperation in the framework of
the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, also by promoting joint economic
projects.
The Foreign Minister underscored that the
Romanian authorities were interested in preserving the Istro-Romanian
dialect used by the Istro-Romanian linguistic community in Croatia,
which is part of that country’s intangible heritage and is registered in
UNESCO’s Red Book of Endangered Languages. He reminded of the constant
concern for the preservation of the identity and rights of minorities,
including the Croatian minority in Romania, by facilitating access to
education in the mother tongue and representation in parliament.
Both officials opined that the Romanian
minority in the Republic of Croatia, as well as the Croatian minority in
Romania represented genuine cultural bridges between the two countries
and a solid foundation for deepening the bilateral cooperation between
the two countries.
The two interlocutors also exchanged
views on the European and regional agenda, with a focus on the evolution
of the Western Balkan states in continuation of the reform pace and
advancing in their rapprochement to the EU. The two parties renewed
their support for the European road of those states, as well as the
special attention given to observance of the European principles and
values, with a focus on observance of the rights of persons belonging to
national minorities.
Moreover, with respect to the Eastern
Neighbourhood, the two officials reiterated the importance of
post-Vilnius implementation of the decisions on lifting the visa
requirement for Moldovan citizens and of the signing, within the
established timeframe (by August 2014 at the latest), of the Association
Agreement and the Free Trade Agreement between the EU and the Republic
of Moldova. In the context, they also discussed about the situation in
Ukraine and the need to promote a permanent dialogue, at EU level, with
the authorities in Kyiv.
Also approached in the framework of the
talks were topics of the international agenda, related to stability and
security in various regions. |