The 195th anniversary of the National Day of the Hellenic Republic, on the 25th of March 2016, provides us with the genuine pleasure of extending, on behalf of the Romanian people the warmest and sincerest congratulations to the people of Greece.
In the light of last year’s celebration of 135 years of bilateral diplomatic relations between our countries, we are pleased to reassert that Romania and Greece are bound by longstanding friendship relations and deep historical, cultural, spiritual, political and economic ties. Our excellent bilateral dialogue is constantly growing stronger by means of a close cooperation on the regional and European arena, providing additional incentives to further enhance our cooperation in all fields, through joint projects and initiatives. We are also solid partners within the European Union, NATO and in regional cooperation formats.
Greece is one of our most important economic partners, as regards trade and investments in various fields. It is very important to underline that, despite the hardships of the economic crisis our bilateral trade continued its steady upward trend, acting as a catalyst for overcoming recent difficulties. For the first eleven months of 2015 alone, the amount of the bilateral trade reached 1.325 million Euros, exceeding the amount registered during the same period of the previous year and continuing to register remarkably balanced figures for each country’s imports and exports. This also proves the high potential and the complementarities between our economies. At the same time, it is worth mentioning that today over 6.302 companies with Greek capital are active in Romania, placing Greece on the 6th position among the foreign investors in our country. An important dimension is added to our traditional cultural affinities by the Romanian community in Greece and the Greek community in Romania. We would like to extend a special message of congratulations to these communities which enhance and enrich the bridge of friendship between our two peoples every day. We are pleased that an important number of Greek citizens that lived and studied in our country speak Romanian. This context is encouraging us to cooperate in new common cultural projects.
Romania and Greece enjoy constant dialogue and cooperation within the EU framework. At the same time, there is a unique feature in our bilateral relations, since few countries are united through such strong historical bonds like Romania and Greece. The current challenge posed by migration represents a test for the entire EU and brings opportunities for our countries to exercise solidarity, shared values and vision.
With respect to regional cooperation, our countries share the common vision of consolidating stability, security, peace and prosperity, to which the European perspective of the Western Balkans and the Black Sea region countries plays a catalytic role. In the framework of regional cooperation formats, such as the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization or the South-East European Cooperation Process, as well as through the trilateral dialogue established with Bulgaria, our countries promote common initiatives and projects, as well as an increased involvement of the EU in our region.
Taking into consideration all the abovementioned factors that bring our nations together, we would like to express once again our friendship towards Greece and to convey to the Greek people congratulations and best wishes for the future. Romania shares the joy of the celebration of the historic day of March 25th and wishes the Hellenic people a Happy National Day!
