PM Dancila meets UAE State Minister Sultan Ahmad Al Jaber, says relations with Emirates a priority

Premier Viorica Dancila met on Tuesday with Dr. Sultan bin Ahmad Sultan Al Jaber, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, stressing on the occasion the fact that the government is recalibrating its orientation towards the traditional partners in the Gulf region, with UAE representing a priority.

According to a government release, Dr. Sultan bin Ahmad Sultan Al Jaber is on an official visit to Romania on the occasion of the first meeting of the Joint Cooperation Committee between the governments of Romania and the United Arab Emirates (April 16 - 17).

"Premier Viorica Dancila stressed that, under the current foreign policy program, the Romanian government is recalibrating the orientation towards its traditional partners in the Gulf region, with relations with the United Arab Emirates representing a priority, both from the perspective of inter-human relations and the economic and commercial potential. The Premier also highlighted the special dynamics of relations between the two countries and shared the desire to further strengthen bilateral ties," the release said.

According to the cited source, the dialogue highlighted the "special symbolism of 2018", that marks the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the modern Romanian state, while the United Arab Emirates celebrate the celebrate the Year of Zayed - the 100th anniversary of the birth of the founding father of UAE, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nayhan.

The sides welcomed the results of the session of the Joint Committee, expressing their interest in deepening cooperation in agriculture, transport, infrastructure, energy, IT and cybersecurity, as well as education and culture.

"The officials emphasized the fact that the bilateral legal documents signed on the occasion of the Joint Committee's session will facilitate and stimulate the development of cooperation in fields of mutual interest. The two dignitaries also agreed that based on the results of the first meeting of the Joint Committee, the governments of the two countries will identify new sectors of cooperation, including new concrete projects," the release said.

Premier Dancila also conveyed the interest of the Romanian side in boosting direct contacts between the business environments of the two countries, voicing her opinion that the Romania - UAE Economic Forum organized on the sidelines of the Joint Committee meeting will allow the presentation of the opportunities offered by the two economies and will give momentum to the dialogue between Romanian and UAE business people, the release concludes. AGERPRES (RO - author: Madalina Cerban, editor: Andreea Rotaru; EN - author: Simona Klodnischi, editor: Simona Iacob)