Foreign Affairs Minister Lazar Comanescu on Thursday said that it is time for a “consistent revival” of the Romanian-Tunisian relations and that Tunisia deserves the entire appreciation for the “efforts made on the path of building a democratic society.”
“We both completely agreed that it is time for a consistent revival of the relations between our countries, relations which are otherwise excellent. Especially because we have a very good cooperation framework, we agreed to work on giving more substance to this cooperation. There are many interest areas with special cooperation potential,” Comanescu told a joint press conference with his Tunisian counterpart Khemaies Jhinaoui.
According to the Romanian diplomacy head, it was agreed that there is a special cooperation potential in the economy area, but also in respect to the experience exchange in building democratic societies.
“I voiced the Romanian side’s availability to share its experience in terms of democratic institutions’ consolidation, justice reform. (…) Tunisia, through the efforts made on the path of building a democratic society, deserves the entire appreciation. At present, when we look at the transformations taking place in the EU vicinity, I believe the transformations taking place in Tunisia deserve all the appreciation,” Comanescu also said.
On the other hand, the Romanian diplomat maintained that the efforts Tunisia is making in respect to border security, in the context of the migration crisis, are appreciated in the EU.
In turn, Khemaies Jhinaoui showed that his country is interested in collaborating with Romania in all areas, from education to experience exchanges and business. He pointed out that Romania has experience in very many areas, and Tunisia needs this experience.
Lazar Comanescu and Khemaies Jhinaoui signed on Thursday at the Foreign Affairs Ministry the Memorandum of Understanding between Romania’s Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Foreign Affairs Ministry of the Republic of Tunisia.
President Iohannis: Romania is fully supporting democratic transition in Tunisia
Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday welcomed Tunisia’s Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui to voice Romania’s full support for democratic transition in Tunisia, the Presidential Administration informed in a press statement on Thursday.
In their conversation, Iohannis and Jhinaoui also discussed consolidating the Romanian-Tunisian bilateral economic and political ties and intensifying ties between the European Union and Tunisia, as well as security affairs in the EU’s southern neighbourhood.
“Hailing the excellent level of the bilateral ties, buttressed by a tradition of cooperation of more than 50 years, President Klaus Iohannis and Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui agreed on an intensification of the bilateral political dialogue, while underscoring the need for diversified economic cooperation that will reflect the real potentials of the two economies,” the statement reads.
The Tunisian foreign minister extended thanks to Romania for its traditional support to Tunisia, which is reflected also in a high number of Tunisian students having studied or still studying in Romania.
As far as the relationship between Tunisia and the European Union is concerned, Iohannis hailed Tunisia’s progress with deepening cooperation with the EU, assuring the minister of Romania’s full support for the process.
The two officials also looked at the latest security developments in the European Union’s southern neighbourhood, with emphasis on the current situation in Libya and Syria and the joint effort against terrorism.
