Romania wants to establish a strategic partnership with the Federal Republic of Germany that should offer a favourable framework for a wider development of the two states' bilateral relations, Prime Minister Emil Boc told visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel (in picture) at the beginning of a bilateral meeting at the Victoria Palace on Tuesday.

'Establishing a strategic partnership between our two countries could offer a favourable framework for a wider development of our privileged relations. A first step toward such strategic partnership would be to make the Romanian-German Conference operational starting next hear', the Romanian Prime Minister stressed.

Boc underscored that Germany is Romania's top commercial partner both by exports and imports and also the third-largest investor in Romania. He said the German Chancellor's visit to Bucharest was an important moment for strengthening the political, economic and cultural ties between the two countries.

'We believe we have very good political and cultural relations, which are also due to the centuries-long coexistence of the ethnic Germans in Transylvania and Bucovina. For the Romanians, the German minority has always been a standard', Boc added. During the meeting, Merkel too stressed the German minority's importance in strengthening the bilateral ties between Romania and Germany.

The German Chancellor, who is paying an official visit to Bucharest on Tuesday, was given a military honours reception at the Victoria Palace.

AGERPRES

(photo courtesy of Agerpres)