1. First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yong and State Secretary for Global Affairs of the Romanian Foreign Ministry Carmen Burlacu held the 8th ROK-Romania High-level Policy Consultation in Seoul on March 18. The two sides engaged in a broad exchange of views on a range of issues, including making substantive progress in the ROK-Romania strategic partnership; enhancing substantive cooperation in infrastructure, IT and energy; and regional and global situations.

2. With this year marking the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the ROK and Romania, the 8th Policy Consultation has been elevated to a vice ministerial level. Vice Minister Cho and his Romanian counterpart Burlacu noted with appreciation that the relations between the two countries have developed into the strategic partnership since their diplomatic relations were forged in 1990. They agreed to advance their friendly cooperative relations in various sectors, including economy and culture, as well as on the international stage.

o Vice Minister Cho and State Secretary Burlacu exchanged congratulatory messages from the Presidents of the two countries to mark the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations. The two sides agreed to continue to work together to conduct people-to-people exchanges and hold dialogues on a regular basis.

o The two sides agreed on the need to hold an Industrial Cooperation Committee meeting on a regular basis, considering that trade between the two countries has increased nearly 70 times since the establishment of diplomatic relations and there is a need to continue to increase trade and investment following the effectuation of the ROK-EU FTA.

o The two sides especially agreed to diversify substantive cooperation between the two countries, including through Romania's Constanza Port development and the ROK-Romania IT cooperation center. They also initialed the Exchange of Notes on the Abolition of Visa Requirements to improve convenience for Korean businessmen in Romania in entering and staying in the country.

3. Vice Minister Cho expressed appreciation to the Romanian side for its active support for the ROK’s North Korea policy and its cooperation on the North Korean issue. He also explained the ROK government’s policies, including the Trust-building Process on the Korean Peninsula, the Initiative for Peaceful Unification on the Korean Peninsula, and the Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative. State Secretary Burlacu took note of the ROK government’s efforts and expressed her willingness to continue to cooperate with the ROK.

4. The two sides also exchanged views on the EU, Ukraine and the situation in the Balkans. Vice Minister Cho explained the ROK government’s efforts to enhance cooperation with various sub-regions, including the ROK-V4 (Visegrad) cooperation, and requested Romania’s interest and support in pursuing cooperation between the ROK and the Balkans, including through the South-East European Cooperation Process. State Secretary Burlacu stated that she will actively cooperate on that. 


               Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFA

*unofficial translation