Marcel Ciolacu: Romania remains firmly engaged in efforts to develop cooperation with Turkey

April 26, 2024, 1:48PM GMT+0200

Romania remains firmly committed to the steps already started for the development of cooperation with Turkey, in order to achieve the objectives that both countries have proposed at the economic level, through the bilateral Strategic Partnership, as well as in the field of security, in the Black Sea region, conveyed the first – Minister Marcel Ciolacu.

“I am confident that we will succeed in increasing the trade between Romania and Turkey to 15 billion dollars”, stated the head of the Government, at the meeting on Friday with the Turkish vice-president, Cevdet Yılmaz, quoted by news.ro.

The high-ranking Turkish official is paying a visit to Romania these days, together with a government delegation, at the invitation of Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu.

“We will continue to actively develop the agenda of dialogue and bilateral collaboration, with special emphasis on the strategic dimensions of sectoral cooperation in areas such as internal affairs, energy, economy and trade, agriculture and research. I have every confidence that through our efforts we will succeed in increasing bilateral trade, as we proposed to 15 billion dollars”, declared Marcel Ciolacu, according to the press release of the Executive.

The meeting with the Turkish Vice-President Cevdet Yılmaz and the plenary discussions of the two government delegations that took place on the occasion of this visit represent a strong signal for the promotion of ongoing investment projects carried out by investors from Turkey. Among these are the strategic project for Romania for the construction of the Natural Gas Transport Pipeline between the shores of the Black Sea and Podisor, inaugurated today, and the investment objective for the expansion of the Omnia starch factory in Megidia worth 75 million euros, achieved, also by a company in Turkey.

With regard to bilateral and regional cooperation under the umbrella of the North Atlantic Alliance, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu spoke for a closer collaboration in security matters in the Black Sea area, considering the current context, stressing that Turkey is a key partner for Romania both in within NATO, as well as in the Black Sea area, next to Bulgaria.