Romanian-Palestinian protocol on cultural cooperation, inked at MAE

Minister of Culture and National Identity Daniel Breaz and Palestinian Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Minister Riad Malki Friday inked a cooperation document on culture and education between Romania and Palestine at the seat of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE), according to Agerpres

The signing ceremony took place at the end of the third meeting of the Romanian-Palestinian Intergovernmental Committee (CIG III).

"I can tell you that today is an extremely important moment for Romania and, of course, for Palestine, given the relations between the two states. The fact that there is a close bond between Palestine and Romania through the communities, of both Romanians and Palestinians, the Romanians living and forming an extremely important community in Palestine, respectively the Palestinians in Romania, compels us, in a way, to have such cultural relations. Traditions must be respected, everything that means culture and common culture must be promoted. I hope that after the signing of this protocol, these relations, including from an official point of view, will develop and I am firmly convinced that the diplomatic relations and cultural relations and educational relations between Romania and Palestine will be a good omen and will continue, so that the two peoples get as close as possible from these points of view," said Daniel Breaz after the signing ceremony of the protocol on the Romanian-Palestinian cooperation program in the fields of culture and education.

In his turn, Palestinian Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Minister Riad Malki, a signatory of the document on behalf of Palestine, said: "Culture is a great treasure because it means more than mere cultural achievements, it means history, it means heritage, it means a lot of things."

"I am very happy that Palestine and Romania have signed this agreement which allows each of them to discover the cultural treasure of the other country. We can find that we have many points in common, many points that bring us closer throughout this history, over the history of centuries that binds us.There are also many areas that allow us to get closer despite the geographic distance between the two countries, yet there is a cultural closeness and as concerns the communication bridges between the two sides. I believe that this agreement will allow the two peoples to get to know the rich culture of the other people," the Palestinian minister said.

The document on cooperation in culture and education between Romania and Palestine was signed in the presence of the Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Teodor Melescanu.