PM Ciolacu, in working visit to the French Republic at the invitation of his French counterpart , Michel Barnier

Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu was received, on Monday evening, at the seat of the French Republic's Government, by Prime Minister Michel Barnier.After the welcome at the Hotel de Matignon, followed by the welcome photo, the two high officials have a bilateral meeting.  The current international context makes even more important the strengthening of the economic component of the Strategic Partnership between Romania and France, PM Marcel Ciolacu stated on Monday, after meeting in Paris his French counterpart, Michel Barnier.The head of Executive and his French counterpart had an official meeting in Paris on Monday, occasioned by Romania's PM working visit to the French Republic at the invitation of Michel Barnier."The current international context makes even more important the strengthening of the economic component of the Strategic Partnership between Romania and France, especially in such fields that bring added value as: IT&C, aeronautics, energy, defence industry. The doubling of the bilateral trade in the sixteen years of Strategic Partnership, its upward trend and such economic partnerships that already have a tradition like Dacia-Renault are all strong arguments for us to continue our cooperation in a heightened manner," prime minister Ciolacu said in a press release sent on Monday.He underscored that he appreciated the excellent cooperation existing between the two countries both at bilateral level and within the multilateral organizations - EU, NATO, UN, and institutional Francophony."The rich relationship between Romania and France represents one of the main pillars of Romanian diplomacy. Romania and France are connected by a deep friendship, a long partnership in promoting our common values and vision at bilateral, European and international level, as well as a strong economic cooperation," said Marcel Ciolacu.In 2025, Romania and France are going to celebrate 145 years of diplomatic relations through events meant to show the citizens the richness of the two cultures and their interactions, which contributed to the definition of the bilateral relation of today."With this in mind, prime minister Marcel Ciolacu appreciated that it would be opportune at this point to update the road map that guides our strategic partnership, a process initiated at the diplomatic level. During the talks, the Romanian prime minister remarked the significant and strong cooperation in terms of security, appreciating the fact that France took on the role of a framework-nation for the NATO Battle Group in Romania, which is an essential element in strengthening the NATO posture on the Eastern Flank, and he assured that Romania will offer all its support as a host-nation for this mission," reads the press release of the Government's press office.Another important topic discussed by the two high officials was cooperation in the fields of education, culture and science.A major point of interest for Romania is to preserve the mother tongue among the Romanian communities abroad, especially among the children who are integrated with the local education systems."We appreciate the openness of the local authorities in France with respect to the implementation of the Romanian language, culture and civilisation programme. We want to continue our collaboration to expand this vital programme for the Romanian communities abroad," underscored the Romanian PM.In this context, he mentioned that Romania is a traditional promoter of Francophony and its values.Thus, prime minister Marcel Ciolacu underscored that the recent referendum in the Republic of Moldova showed that this country's citizens are willing to join the European family, despite the persistent disinformation campaigns and manipulation they had to handle."It is our duty to support them on their path to EU accession. We support the advancement of the European accession process of Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova," said the PM.Moreover, he thanked France for supporting Romania's accession process to the OECD, a cross-party country project that remains a major priority of the Government.On the same occasion, Ciolacu offered his French counterpart a T-shirt signed by Romanian champion David Popovici.The Romanian head of Executive was accompanied to France by deputy PM Marian Neacsu, the minister of foreign affairs, Luminita Odobescu, the minister of national defence, Angel Tilvar, the minister of labour and social solidarity, Simona Bucura-Oprescu, the honorary adviser to the PM, Victor Negrescu, vice-president of the European Parliament, and the Hidroelectrica CEO, Borbely Karoly.