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US Ambassador Hans Klemm participated on Friday in the ceremony celebrating 50 years since the inauguration of the Presidential Lounge of the Henri Coanda International Airport, bringing to mind that the first VIP to walk through the Presidential Lounge was in fact Richard Nixon, in 1969.
"The first VIP, not only American, but from around the world, to walk through the Presidential Lounge was in fact Richard Nixon. I am very, very grateful that you are also recognising the anniversary of that event. It took place, as I was just explaining, in a very difficult geopolitical context: 1969 was at the height of the Cold War. No American President had visited any communist country since Franklin Roosevelt was at Yalta in 1945," the US Ambassador stated.
Hans Klemm brought to mind that the US regarded Romania at that time as a communication channel with the communist China.
"Richard Nixon was elected President in November of 1968, he was inaugurated, the American President in January 1969 and less than seven months later, he arrives in Bucharest, to make a call on President Ceausescu and to solidify the relations between Romania and the United States. Romania was a very important partner (...) a very important interlocutor for the United States during that period, as it's now known, Romania was one of two channels the United States was using to try to make contact and reach out to communist China, efforts that would result in President Nixon's historic travel to Beijing in 1972," the US Ambassador stated.
He made a parallel between the first walk on the Moon and Nixon's first step in the Presidential Lounge of the Henri Coanda Airport.
"President Nixon's visit to Bucharest, his presence here in the Presidential Lounge occurred less than two weeks after the Moon landing of Apollo 11 and the walk on the Moon by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. And, President Nixon when he arrived here in Romania brought some gifts from the Moon, from that first Moon walk to Romania, gifts that are now in the Museum of National History of Romania. It is an extraordinary honor for me to represent my country on the occasion of this very important anniversaries - the first man to walk on the Moon, the first President to walk through the Presidential Lounge here at Henri Coanda Airport," Hans Klemm stated.
He also brought to mind the involvement to the US telecommunication company Motorola in creating the communication system of the Henri Coanda Airport.
"Let me just also take a moment to express gratitude for the cooperation that the United States enjoys with the management of Henri Coanda Airport - we do a lot of work together on airport safety and risk management. (..) And also, I'm very proud that an American technology companies, such as Motorola have played an important role in designing (...) the telecommunication system here at the airport," US Ambassador Klemm said.
