Prime Minister Florin Citu, Polish counterpart discuss trade, energy co-operation as priorities on bilateral agenda

On Thursday, Romania's Prime Minister Florin Citu had a telephone conversation with his Polish counterpart, Mateusz Morawiecki, during which current items on the Romanian-Polish agenda - cooperation in trade and investment - were addressed along with the energy dimension that together with the continuation of close defence and security collaboration are priority items on the bilateral agenda, agerpres reports.

According to a press statement released by the Romanian government, the two prime ministers welcomed the excellent level of the bilateral strategic partnership between Romania and Poland and mentioned a shared desire to deepen and expand bilateral co-operation in areas of mutual interest.

"A very good opportunity will be the third joint meeting of the Romanian and Polish national governments, which will be organised this autumn in Warsaw, Poland. On that occasion, among other things, an updated action plan will be agreed on for 2021-2025, for the implementation of the strategic partnership between the two countries," the statement reads.

According to the official statement, co-operation in trade and investment as well as energy will be, together with the continuation of close defence and security co-operation, "priority items on the bilateral agenda."

"The conversation also highlighted a shared interest in deepening sectoral co-operation and the exchange of experience in areas such as agriculture, European funds, transport infrastructure, the digital sector, and also new technologies," reads the statement.

The aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic recovery and measures to contain COVID-19 were also discussed, with emphasis on the crucial importance of vaccination campaigns for the health of economies and citizens.

"Prime Minister Citu underlined the special opportunities offered by the implementation of recovery programmes in EU member states to strengthen the processes of economic and social reforms in our countries. The future prosperity of the European Union depends on the efficiency and speed at which our economies will be able to adapt to the developments brought about by digital transformation, the adoption of new technologies and the energy and climate transitions," the statement shows.

At the regional level, the two heads of government noted the special values of co-operation between the two countries under the B9 format and the Three Seas Initiative.

"Regarding the Three Seas Initiative, the importance of implementing strategic regional interconnection projects, such as the Constanta-Gdansk railway (Rail2Sea) and the Via Carpathia road project, was highlighted," according to the statement.

Last but not least, support for the European journey of Moldova and common support for the further dynamisation and substantiation of the Eastern Partnership were reiterated.