Romania remains firmly committed to the initiatives already underway for developing cooperation with the Republic of Turkey, aiming to achieve the objectives both countries have set at the economic level through the bilateral Strategic Partnership, as well as in the field of security in the Black Sea region, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu conveyed during today’s meeting with Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz. The senior Turkish official visited Romania last week, accompanied by a government delegation, at the invitation of Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu.
„We will continue to actively develop the agenda of dialogue and bilateral cooperation, with a special focus on the strategic dimensions of sectoral cooperation in areas such as internal affairs, energy, economy and trade, agriculture, and research. I am confident that through our efforts, we will succeed in increasing bilateral trade to the targeted $15 billion,” stated Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu.
Discussions on energy cooperation, which took place in early March 2024 in Ankara, led to the consolidation of very good collaboration perspectives towards the central pillar of Romanian-Turkish cooperation in this field, namely, diversifying sources and supply routes of gas and energy through jointly developing strategic investment projects in rehabilitating transmission networks and promoting renewable energy, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu mentioned.
The meeting with Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz and the discussions between the two government delegations during this visit signal a strong impetus for ongoing investment projects carried out by Turkish investors. These include the strategic project for Romania’s construction of the Natural Gas Transmission Pipeline between the Black Sea coast and Podisor, inaugurated on April 26, and the investment objective for expanding the Omnia starch factory in Megidia worth 75 million euros, also undertaken by a Turkish company.
Regarding bilateral and regional cooperation under the NATO umbrella, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu advocated for closer security collaboration in the Black Sea region, given the current security context, emphasizing that Turkey is a key partner for Romania both within NATO and in the Black Sea region, alongside Bulgaria. „We look forward to implementing the initiative to create the Naval Mine Clearance Group in the Black Sea – Romania – Turkey – Bulgaria, a concrete expression of our cooperation in the region,” stated the Romanian Prime Minister in this context.