The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America and Romania on the occasion of the U.S. - Romania Strategic Dialogue.
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The governments of Romania and the United States held the ninth Strategic Dialogue in Washington, D.C. on June 21, 2024. This ninth round of the Strategic Dialogue was hosted by the U.S. Department of State and included high-level representatives from both governments. The meeting included sessions on regional political developments; security and defense cooperation; Black Sea security; energy security and interconnectivity; bilateral economic cooperation on trade and investment; cooperation in the field of justice and home affairs; and strengthening people-to-people relationships.
The U.S.-Romania Strategic Dialogue reaffirmed our deep and growing strategic partnership. This year, we celebrated the 20th anniversary of Romania's accession into NATO, and our relationship as Allies was reinforced by the talks between Presidents Iohannis and Biden at the White House on May 7. The United States deeply appreciates Romania's crucial role in promoting Euro-Atlantic security and its leadership on NATO's eastern flank. The United States applauds Romania's leadership in consolidating the Ukrainian air defense and particularly Romania's recent decision to provide one Patriot system to Ukraine. This comes at a critical moment for Ukraine's defense. The United States is committed to supporting Romania's own defense modernization, the consolidation of its air defense, and interoperability efforts. The United States commends Romania on its successful opening of Europe's first F-16 regional training center this year. Romania plays an important role in bolstering NATO's collective defense, and we reiterate our commitment to strengthening the Transatlantic bond. We reaffirmed our unity ahead of the upcoming Washington NATO Summit.
During the Strategic Dialogue, the United States and Romania discussed ways to strengthen our cooperation in the face of shared regional and global threats and challenges, the most urgent of which is Russia's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine. The United States and Romania reiterate the strategic importance of the Black Sea region to Euro-Atlantic security. The United States and Romania underlined that Russia's continued aggression has made the Black Sea region host to a number of serious threats. The two sides reaffirmed that this development makes coordinated, predictable Euro-Atlantic support for the region more relevant than ever. Romania and the United States remain strongly committed to strengthening their efforts to ensure a secure, stable, and prosperous Black Sea region, with the implementation of the United States Black Sea Strategy being an integral part of this effort. The United States noted Romania's leadership in advancing freedom and safety of navigation in the Black Sea by significantly upgrading and expanding transit capacity and through its maritime demining efforts.
The United States and Romania reaffirmed their unwavering support for Ukraine. Both countries remain committed to ensuring Russia's aggression against Ukraine remains a strategic failure. The two sides highlighted the important progress made to support Ukraine and regional economic integration through our cooperation and joint action as part of the Danube Quint, a model of Euro-Atlantic cooperation, which has further connected Ukraine to global markets and increased regional transit capacity. The United States appreciated Romania's leadership in bringing more than 50 million tons of Ukrainian grain and agricultural products to global markets. The United States welcomed Romania's substantive bilateral assistance to Ukraine, firm support for Ukraine's strategic goal of membership in the EU and NATO, and Romania joining the G7 Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine. Romania commended continued U.S. leadership in aiding Ukraine's defense and highlighted the importance of U.S. support to Ukraine and the region in the face of Russia's aggression. The United States and Romania reiterated the importance of support for Ukraine's critical energy infrastructure needs, including through the G7-plus coordination group.
The two sides noted the need to work together to bolster the resilience of the Republic of Moldova, as it faces the Kremlin's hybrid threats and interference in its elections. The United States and Romania welcomed the consistent progress of the Republic of Moldova on its European path and the real benefits that this provides for all its citizens. The United States commended Romania's consistent and significant contribution to the energy security of the Republic of Moldova and agreed to continued collaboration and support to ensure further integration of the Republic of Moldova's energy system and transport networks with Europe. Romania noted that USAID has been a critical partner in helping the Republic of Moldova diversify sources and increase capacity to import gas and electricity from European market suppliers.
The Romanian and U.S. delegations highlighted their growing defense cooperation. The United States praised Romania's steady allocation of at least two percent of GDP to defense investments to meet modernization goals and improve interoperability by transitioning away from legacy platforms. Recalling that interoperability is a key NATO concept, the two sides resolved to work together to further strengthen defense industrial cooperation and to ensure predictability and resilience of procurement and supply. As NATO Allies, the United States and Romania intend to continue to contribute to NATO's collective security and remain vigilant in defending NATO territory against all threats. The United States thanked Romania for hosting thousands of U.S. and other Allied forces to bolster NATO's forward defense posture on the Eastern Flank. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to continue to strengthen NATO's deterrence and defense and agreed on the importance and urgency of full implementation of previous Allied decisions in this regard.
Romania and the United States intend to increase cooperation to counter the full range of hybrid threats. The two sides reaffirmed the interest to deepen cooperation on arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation, building on the results of the consistent cooperation in this field.
The delegations reviewed progress on energy cooperation, an important part of the U.S.-Romania partnership with regional relevance. The United States welcomed Romania's commitment to increase civilian nuclear capacity via the construction of new reactors at Cernavoda, as well as its leadership in bringing a first-of-a-kind small modular reactor (SMR) capacity to Europe. The United States reiterated its commitment to support and participate in the development of these projects, noting that Romania is a model for the region's path towards energy independence and in developing green energy solutions. The two sides agreed to continue bilateral cooperation on offshore wind and geothermal energy, taking note of the adoption in April of the first Romanian law regulating offshore wind energy production with support from the State Department's Bureau of Energy Resources. They underscored the importance of energy connectivity for the resilience of the Black Sea region.
The United States and Romania assessed progress in our economic cooperation, noting that trade and investment between the two countries has expanded significantly. The two sides pledged to build on these developments in order to develop our economic cooperation to its full potential. The United States and Romania highlighted private sector collaboration to strengthen commercial ties, including the recent U.S. Department of Commerce Aerospace and Defense Trade Mission, the 2024 Trade Winds Europe/Eurasia Romania mission stop, and the upcoming Southeast Europe Energy-Transition and Energy Security Business Development Trade Mission to Bulgaria, Romania, and Serbia. The United States reiterated its support for Romania's strategic objective of OECD accession, noting the significant milestones achieved thus far.
The United States reiterated its strong support for Romania meeting the requirements for accession to the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, which brings important security and economic benefits to our partnership.
The United States and Romania plan to continue to prioritize educational, cultural, and professional exchanges. The two sides noted extensive people-to-people connections are a collective strength, and committed to build on public diplomacy programming that promotes mutual understanding across the full range of our shared priorities including democracy, culture, and education programs. The United States applauded the recent increase in funding from the Government of Romania to support the Fulbright Program, which profoundly influences lives and professional careers through education and exchange. Over 3,600 Romanians and Americans have participated in the Fulbright program since 1960. The two sides called for more students to participate in the Fulbright program in both directions.
The United States and Romania deepened their partnership on combating disinformation by signing a Memorandum of Understanding on Countering Foreign State Information Manipulation. The United States and Romania intend to collaborate and mitigate the negative impacts of information manipulation and support capacity development efforts with emerging partners.
The United States and Romania expressed their commitment to deepen the bilateral strategic partnership in the year ahead and through future strategic dialogues. Romania and the United States aim to hold the next annual meeting of the Strategic Dialogue in Bucharest in early 2025.
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