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President Klaus Iohannis emphasizes the need for the Black Sea region and the Balkans to remain "a stable and predictable area", pointing out that the answer to the challenges in the area is cohesion and adaptation to the new realities of the security environment.
"For Romania as an allied state, and for NATO as a whole, security in the Black Sea region is of particular importance for the Euro-Atlantic security. Our region - border of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union and a crossover point of different and diverse civilizations, cultures and interests - has gained a special weight in the security equation at international level, being marked over the years but especially in recent years, by multiple and more complex challenges. The Black Sea area is a space of tensions, pressures, risks and threats such as the hybrid war in Ukraine, Russia's assertiveness, international terrorism, frozen conflicts, the crisis of migration, cyber-aggression and communicational aggression. We want and it is necessary for the Black Sea region and the Balkans to remain a stable and predictable space. In my view, our answer to the area's specific generalizations can be synthesized in two broad directions: cohesion (in the broadest sense) and adaptation (to the new realities of the security environment)," says the head of state in a message sent on the occasion of the opening ceremony of the training program "Security in the Black Sea Region. Shared challenges, sustainable future".
The message was presented by the State Advisor in the Presidential Administration, Constantin Ionescu, in Constanta.
President Iohannis mentions in the message that, in the context of the presidency of the Council of the European Union, Romania supports the maintenance of the Western Balkans on the EU agenda of priorities and underlines the importance of concrete results as individual progress.
"Romania seeks to reaffirm the Black Sea on the agenda of the European Union, through a new impetus for increased EU involvement in sectoral cooperation projects based on the Maritime Agenda of the Region. Strengthening our country's profile in NATO and the European Union as well as the strategic partnership with the US, are the basic pillars of the foreign and security policy of our country, while Romania is working to take an active and constructive role in the Black Sea region, and as a regional security provider, Romania considers ensuring regional stability to be a strategic priority. From this perspective, it is necessary to intensify regional cooperation, based on the strict observance of the norms of international law, through political dialogue and peaceful resolution of divergences. At the same time, increasing regional cooperation on the economic dimension can bring benefits to all states involved," the head of state shows.
He believes that the transformation of the Black Sea region will not be possible without major investments in education.
"I firmly believe that ensuring an adequate level of security culture is the key to managing new realities and must be a major concern for all actors involved, from government to ordinary citizens," says Iohannis.
