Romania is viewed favorably in Latin America, president says
Romanian president Klaus Iohannis recently stated that the results of his diplomatic tour of South America were "eminently positive," arguing that Romania is viewed favorably by countries in the region. Still, deeper economic cooperation is needed as current relations are far from their potential.
"This tour had eminently positive results. I had the opportunity to speak with the traditional friends of Romania, as I did today with president Fernandez [of Argentina], for the first time in many years at the presidential level. These contacts are extremely important, and personally, I regret that they needed such a long time to happen, but I believe it is very good that we have met now,” said Iohannis, cited by Digi24.
“[…] when we discuss here on the spot, I can better understand the position of our Latin American friends and bring these conclusions to the European Council. [...] I believe that through this visit, we have contributed to an important awareness among our friends. Romania exists, is present, and wants to deepen these relationships. We were received very well everywhere," added the head of state at the Casa Rosada Presidential Palace during a joint press conference with his Argentinean counterpart, Alberto Fernandez.
Klaus Iohannis also emphasized his desire to deepen economic cooperation with countries in South America. "Romania is viewed favorably, but my ambition is for it to be seen even more and for our friends to understand that we want a real deepening of relations, we want much deeper economic cooperation. We must recognize that we have a good economic relationship, but it is far from its potential. Sectoral collaborations are desired, but many are still in an incipient phase - agriculture, research, education, digitization."
During the South American tour, the Romanian president met with his Brazilian, Chilean, and Argentinian counterparts, along with other officials.
There were, however, several critics of Iohannis’ trip to Latin America, which began earlier this month. “Klaus Iohannis is leaving for Brazil today. He chose a very bad time. His interlocutor, Lula, has just returned from Beijing. Where he declared that Europeans and Americans must cease military support for Ukraine. The President of Romania is crossing the Atlantic to meet a friend of Putin and Xi Jinping,” said former member of the European parliament Cristian Preda on Facebook.
(Photo source: Presidency.ro)
