Aurescu - Eric Swalwell meeting

Bogdan Aurescu, the Romanian foreign minister had a meeting in New York, on Thursday, with Eric Swalwell, member of the US House of Representatives , a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, chairman of the Intelligence Modernization and Readiness Subcommittee, which oversees overall management of the Intelligence Community. The discussion took place on the occasion of minister Aurescu's presence in the New York for the works of the summit segment of the UN General Assembly.   During the meeting, minister Aurescu reiterated the importance paid by Romania to the consolidation of the Strategic Partnership and political dialogue with the US. He reviewed recent frequent contacts, including president Biden's participation in the B9 summit , successfully hosted by president Klaus Iohannis in May. Aurescu spoke about the talks he had with secretary of state Antony Blinken and with Jake Sullivan, a US national security advisor.   This contact agenda reflects the maturity of bilateral relations ten years after the adoption of the Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership for the 21st century between Romania and the USA and signing the Agreement between the US and Romania on the Development of the US ballistic Missile Defense system in Romania , documents which represent the basis of the Strategic Partnership which the head of Romanian diplomacy negotiated on behalf of the Romanian state ten years ago, the Foreign Ministry mentions.   The head of Romanian diplomacy saluted the visits made in Romania by US Congress delegations in 2021 and pointed out the importance of strengthening parliamentary cooperation, including the friendship groups from legislative bodies of the two countries and emphasized the need to organize new similar visits in Romania in the future.   The two officials had an exchange of ideas on the security matter in the Black Sea area, the existence of persistent security challenges, which need the consolidation of NATO discouraging and defense position on NATO East Flank in a unitary and coherent approach. In that context, Aurescu pleaded for an increased US military presence in Romania and in the region.   The head of Romanian diplomacy also pointed out the importance of consolidating the American economic and investment presence in the area, reiterating the need of a US financial involvement in materializing Rail2Sea, a strategic project of regional interconnection promoted by Romania as part of the Three Seas Initiative which can make a relevant contribution in the economic development of the region as well as in military mobility on NATO East Flank.