Loading ...During the first day of his visit to Ottawa, Aurescu also met Minister for citizen, immigration and multiculturalism affairs Jason Kenney. The release mentions that Aurescu’s meeting with Kinsella was used as an opportunity to deepen discussions of the themes of interest to the bilateral partnership between Canada and Romania that was initiated this May on a visit by Kinsella to Bucharest.
Aurescu voiced Romania’s interest in consolidating the economic component of the bilateral relationship. He mentioned to the point intensifying civil nuclear cooperation by getting Canada involved in the construction of units 3 and 4 of the Cernavoda nuclear-power plant and promoting joint projects in the same area on third markets. Aurescu also presented the opportunities for Canadian investment in Romania, particularly in the areas of infrastructure and non-conventional energy.
Building on the interest displayed by Kinsella on his visit to Romania in initiating cooperation projects between the Romanian port of Constanta and the Canadian port of Halifax, the two officials agreed that direct relations should be initiated between the local administrations of the two cities by a visit to Constanta of a Canadian delegation.
Aurescu and Kinsella also underscored the need for interpersonal relations between Romanians and Canadians. Lifting visa requirements for Romanian nationals travelling to Canada, signing an agreement on social security, initiating talks on mutual recognition of school diplomas as well as agreeing on a bilateral instrument for youth exchanges can all contribute significantly to achieving this goal.
As part of the conversation, avenues were also explored for cooperation in energy security, starting from similarities between the approach of Romania’s interests in the Black Sea zone and Canada’s interest in the Extreme North.
Also on Wednesday, Aurescu gave a speech at the Centre for Security and Defence Studies of the Norman Paterson International Affairs Department of the Carleton University on the role security energy will play in the new NATO strategy concept.
Aurescu introduced Romania’s vision of energy security, which is rooted in the essential idea that both energy sources and their transport routes have to be diversified. In order to implement the concept, said Aurescu, cooperation and coordination are required that will comprise both governments and international organisations.
‘A successful approach of the regional and global challenges in the area of energy security entails cooperation grounded in mutual respect and confidence in the Russian Federation and Ukraine, both of which are important players in the Black Sea region. Romania, the same as the European Union and NATO, has a specific interest in cooperating with the two countries,’ said Aurescu.
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