Romanian-Austrian memorandum to develop political dialogue signed in Bucharest

A Romanian-Austrian memorandum of understanding to deepen and develop political dialogue was signed on Monday in Bucharest by Foreign Affairs Minister Oana Toiu and Federal Minister for European and International Affairs Beate Meinl-Reisinger.Oana Toiu underscored that Austria is an "important' partner for Romania and our country wishes to maintain this collaboration, so that the bilateral relations reach their development potential at political, economic and social level."Today, I signed, along my counterpart, the memorandum of understanding between Romania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs of the Republic of Austria, regarding political consultations. It is a memorandum which represents the foundation for deepening and developing political dialogue and cooperation on bilateral topics, both at bilateral level and multilateral and global level," Foreign Affairs Minister Toiu told a news conference organized at the Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) headquarters.Toiu brought to mind that Austria is the second largest foreign investor in our country. She added that there is "a growth potential" and highlighted the importance of supporting the business environment of the two countries."We aim to further strengthen both the bilateral dialogue and the economic cooperation, including through projects regarding Ukraine's reconstruction, energy cooperation, social and academic dimension, the Black Sea region, but also, joint approaches in how we recognize and and respond to hybrid threats," the minister said.Oana Toiu mentioned that on Monday morning, a meeting was held at Austria's Embassy in Bucharest, which was attended by businessmen from both countries."Our companies working together create over 100,000 jobs. Here, we are looking at investments of over 14 billion euro and trade exchanges of products exceeding 6 billion, with an addition of over 2 billion in services. These are annual figures," the Romanian foreign minister explained.Within the discussion also tackled was the possibility of a closer collaboration at academic level, but also in the research and tourism areas. Moreover, the Romanian community in Austria was also discussed and the possibility to ensure greater access to Romanian language courses."The 'Neptune Deep' project, the largest offshore natural gas exploitation project in the Black Sea, is an exemplary project for Romanian-Austrian cooperation. It will have a positive impact on the energy market not only in Romania, but also at regional level and will strengthen Romania's role as the largest natural gas producer in the European Union," Oana Toiu conveyed.According to her, Romania aims to complete the accession process to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) by the beginning of 2026."I talked with Mr Minister about the assessment committees and the support we receive from Austria. I thank her for this very important support," Toiu said.Within talks, it was reiterated the joint support of the two sides regarding the EU enlargement with Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and the Western Balkans, "based on the principle of merit in implementing the necessary reforms and assuming community values.""Within the talks, I emphasized the firm support we grant for advancing the European path of these countries. I also welcomed the strong pro-European message sent by the citizens of the Republic of Moldova on the occasion of the parliamentary elections on 28 September," the minister added. (Photo:https://www.mae.ro/)