Valdis Zatlers attends opening of honourary consulate in Bucharest, invites Traian Basescu to Latvia.
President Traian Basescu stated on Thursday, on the occasion of his Latvian counterpart’s visit to Bucharest, that Romania’s and Latvia’s approaches in what concerns issues of European interest are very close, thanking the Latvian Head of State for his support for our country’s Schengen accession, Mediafax informs.
“This is the first visit that a Latvian President pays to Romania. It’s a visit that honours us and that will surely consolidate political and, I hope, economic relations between the two countries. During our talks we touched on a wide range of issues, particularly issues of European interest. We talked about the EU’s future financial framework, hence its 2013-2020 budget, about the Common Agricultural Policy, about the cohesion policy. Likewise, we talked about the Union’s energy policy and neighborhood policy,” Basescu pointed out during the joint press conference. He added that Romania’s and Bulgaria’s Schengen accession was one point on the agenda. “I also want to thank Mr. President for the conclusions of today’s talks, but also for the position he adopted until now, a position that supports precisely the Romanian point of view according to which no more conditions can be added,” the Romanian Head of State added. In his turn, Zatlers pointed out that the European citizens’ free movement should not be contained. “Likewise, it was important to change views on the cohesion and cultural policies in Europe in the following decade. It’s very important to underline the importance of cohesion policies that will weigh a lot in the following decades and these projects should be implemented for periods of 30, 40 years; these are very important aspects in consolidating the situation and EU’s position,” the Latvian President added, also stating that he invited Basescu to Latvia for follow-up talks.
Zatlers also stated that his visit to Bucharest comes at a “very appropriate” time, with 2011 marking 90 years since Romania recognized Latvia and 20 years since the two countries resumed diplomatic ties.
“Today I am honoured to attend the opening of Latvia’s honourary consulate in Bucharest and I would like to thank the Romanian side for the support it offered in order to open this small embassy in Bucharest. Apart from the European and local issues we discussed today we have also tackled bilateral issues and I can state that bilateral relations have improved a lot in the last five to six years,” Zatlers stated.
