Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis decorated Polish President Andrzej Duda with the Order of the Star of Romania in the Grad Cross with Collar rank as a “sign of high appreciation for his contribution to boosting regional cooperation and the development of friendly relations and cooperation between Romania and the Republic of Poland.”

The decoration decree was published in the Official Gazette on Tuesday, July 5, reports local Mediafax. The President awarded the honour at the proposal of foreign minister Lazar Comanescu.

Polish President Andrzej Duda visited Romania in early November last year when heads of state from Eastern European NATO member states met in Bucharest to agree on a common strategy for the important summit to be held in Warsaw this month. At that time, Duda also met Klaus Iohannis at the Cotroceni Palace in Bucharest.

Poland's capital Warsaw hosts an important NATO summit on July 8-9, in which the leaders of the Alliance's member countries will take decisions related to the security strategy in the Eastern European region, among others. Romania hopes that NATO's leaders will approve the deployment of NATO troops in the country to back the two command centers opened in Bucharest.

In late-June this year, Iohannis also decorated German President Joachim Gauck and his domestic partner Daniela Schadt.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Presidency.ro)