Romanian Foreign Minister - Cristian Diaconescu: Romania wishes to keep French investments

Romanian Foreign Minister Cristian Diaconescu said following the meeting with his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner, on Monday, in Paris, that Romania wishes to keep the big French investments, which are outstandingly important, to see protectionism avoided by both sides, as well as to find some commercial and economic formulas capable to ensure going beyond this crisis.

According to Romania's Ministry for Foreign Affairs, both Foreign Ministers approached topics related to the international economic crisis and the manner how Romania and France can coordinate efforts from this perspective.

France's solidarity with Romania is obvious both at the political level and in the field of the economic exchanges, Romania's Foreign Minister said.

"Romania and France are to focus on the consolidation of the Strategic Partnership between the two countries", Romania's top diplomat said specifying that this year "the two countries will be focused on providing substance to the road map of this partnership".

At the same time ForMin Diaconescu pointed out that the Strategic Partnership between Romania and France represents both a political signal, and the consolidation of some already stable economic relations.

"This partnership also supposes finding the adequate solutions from the economic point of view, favorable to both countries and to main companies which invest in Romania", Romania's Foreign Minister told the journalists attending the press conference following the meeting.

The two foreign ministers also approached aspects related to the European partnership within the European Commission and the European Union in the prospect of changes in 2009, as well as regional, global aspects, EU neighborhood, West Balkans and the situation in the Middle East.

Another topic Diaconescu and Kouchner approached was that of the visit paid to the Republic of Moldova. The Romanian ForMin underscored that 'it has on the table an European project backed by all EU member states. "It is up to the authorities in Chisinau to have the capacity to grasp what happens and to act as such, in an European spirit".

The Romanian top diplomat's visit to Paris takes place under the auspices of the privileged relationship between Romania and France, marked by the Joint Declaration on the Strategic Partnership between France and Romania that the presidents of the two countries signed in Bucharest, in February 2008, and the special prospects the bilateral cooperation opens at the political, security, economic, technological, environmental, cultural, scientific and educational levels in compliance with the road map's provisions, Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed in a press release.

Source: Embassy of Romania - London