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The United States plans to increase its military presence in Romania. The announcement was made on Twitter Monday night by Bucharest’s chief of diplomacy, Bogdan Aurescu, after having a meeting in Washington with his US counterpart, Mike Pompeo.
“Romania welcomes the plans of the United States to increase its military presence in Romania”, writes Bogdan Aurescu, on Twitter, where he publishes several images of his meeting with Mike Pompeo.
The increase in the US military presence in Romania has been talked about since the summer, after the United States decided to relocate part of the US troops from Germany, and The Pentagon has decided to make the Black Sea area the new priority of its defense strategy in Europe.
“We discussed cooperation in the defense field and joint efforts to strengthen NATO’s defense and deterrence force on the eastern flank, including the Black Sea,” Bogdan Aurescu said on Twitter. “Romania is committed to continuing the allocation of funds in strategic defense,” says the head of Romanian diplomacy.
Bogdan Aurescu and Mike Pompeo evaluated the achievements of the Romanian-American Strategic Partnership and discussed “new priorities” in economic, energy, political and security cooperation.
The Visa Waiver program, mentioned again
Last but not least, the Romanian Chancellor again expressed his wish. Romania to be included in the Visa Waiver program, which would allow visa-free travel to the United States. “I underlined the great interest of Romania in being included in the Visa Waiver program, given the importance of strengthening personal ties between people, but also in business. We agree to continue future cooperation and coordination on this issue of common interest, for the benefit direct from our citizens, ”says Bogdan Aurescu.
The inclusion of a country in the Visa Waiver Program, which has strict criteria (a visa refusal rate of less than 3 percent, from which Romania is quite a long way off) is a decision that is ultimately up to the Congress of the United States.
Gas and 5G debates
Energy security and 5G networks are among the topics of common interest in the bilateral relationship. Bogdan Aurescu announces that he spoke with Mike Pompeo about “concrete ways” to strengthen regional energy security, and in this context the BRUA gas pipeline was discussed.
The BRUA (Bulgaria-Romania-Hungary-Austria) gas pipeline is a project financed by the European Commission and is mainly aimed at transporting gases to be extracted from the Black Sea.
“Regarding the 5G network, we underline the efforts of Romania for adequate legislation that allows rigorous monitoring of suppliers,” says Bogdan Aurescu, given that the United States’ concerns in this field refer to the Chinese equipment used in the field . Romania and the United States signed a memorandum in this regard last year.
Support required for the highway connecting Constanta to Gdansk
Bogdan Aurescu and Mike Pompeo also discussed another topic that has aroused great interest in Romania recently, after it was mentioned by the US Ambassador, Adrian Zuckerman, which connects the port of Constanța with the port of Gdansk in Poland via a highway network. and railway. Bogdan Aurescu urged the Americans to continue supporting these projects, which are being discussed in the Three Seas Initiative, a form of regional cooperation between 12 Eastern European countries.
Likewise, the Romanian head of diplomacy and his US counterpart spoke about “concrete steps” in relation to cooperation in the field of civil nuclear energy.
The Americans will participate in the construction of reactors 3 and 4 in Cernavoda and in the remodeling of unit 1. Is an eight billion dollar project coordinated by one of the largest construction companies in the United States. Companies from our country will also participate, but also from France and Canada. The intergovernmental agreement that starts this project was signed on October 9, in Washington, by the Minister of the Economy, Virgil Popescu, and his American counterpart.
Editor: Luana Pavaluca
