ForMin Melescanu speaks at the ACP-EU meeting about impact of climate change from a security perspective

Climate change and its impact from a security perspective was the topic tackled on Wednesday by Foreign Affairs Minister Teodor Melescanu at the works of the 37th session of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly - Africa, Caribbean, Pacific - European Union (ACP-EU), which took place in Bucharest.

According to a Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) release, Melescanu, who delivered a speech within the "Working on Global Arena" Panel, underscored that all the states around the world are exposed to climate risks, regardless of their geographic position and there is a need of both solidarity and responsibility in identifying solutions, as well as a multilateral platform to facilitate cooperation and dialogue.

The Minister showed that the efficient approach of climate changes and especially the global warming requires awareness, all actors involved feeling responsible and a strong political will for effective demarches both at national and global level. In this context, he underscored the need to promote demarches in a multilateral framework in which the United Nations plays an essential role.

Minister Teodor Melescanu presented the demarches carried out by Romania in the context of exercising the EU Council Presidency. He mentioned that the organisation in Bucharest, on 12 March of the "Building resilience to natural disasters" Conference which was dedicated to one of the topical issues on the international agenda - the negative influences of climate changes over sustainable development and security.

The MAE release informs that on the sidelines of the ACP-EU meeting in Bucharest. the Foreign Affairs Minister carried out bilateral meetings with Senate President of the Gabonese Republic Lucie Milebou-Aubusson Mboussou and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Commerce and Trade of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Louis Hilton Straker.

Within the meeting with the Gabonese Senate President, the officials reviewed the bilateral dialogue in various sectors of shared interest and the cooperation of international organisations.

At the meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines also discussed were the technical assistance projects devoted by Romania to the Caribbean region, as well as the prospects for economic and sectoral cooperation in areas of shared interest such as education, climate change, emergency situation management, food security and safety, IT, tourism.

Minister Teodor Melescanu highlighted the fact that, in the context of the EU Council Presidency, Romania will pay special attention to the events with a major impact on African and Caribbean states, such as the negotiation of the post-Cotonou agreement, which will define the future framework of the EU-ACP relations.

The ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly was established out of the desire to gather the elected representatives of the European Parliament and the elected representatives of the African, the Caribbean and the Pacific. The works were attended by approximately 400 representatives of African, Caribbean and Pacific Parliaments and MEPs, representatives of the ACP and European institutions, the release mentions.