Romanian ambassador to UK presented with European Diplomat of the Year award

Romanian ambassador to UK presented with European Diplomat of the Year award.

Romanian ambassador in London Laura Popescu was presented on Monday with the European Diplomat of the Year award, during the annual ceremony organized by the DIPLOMAT Magazine, the Romanian embassy announced in a statement, told Agerpres.

Popescu, who was designed winner of the vote of the members of the diplomatic missions to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, received the prize from the hands of BBC journalist James Landale in a ceremony that brought together over 200 members of the London-based diplomatic corps and British officials.

In her acceptance speech, ambassador Laura Popescu said that receiving such recognition for her activity in the United Kingdom is a special honor, and thanked her colleagues from the diplomatic missions for their trust and very good collaboration. At the same time, she pointed out that the distinction is the result of teamwork of Romania's entire diplomatic mission to the UK.

A career diplomat, ambassador Laura Popescu evoked key moments from her diplomatic activity in Great Britain, with an emphasis on the bilateral component, including the recent signing in London, by the Romanian and the British foreign ministers, of the updated Declaration of Strategic Partnership between Romania and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as well as the organization of the first Romanian-British Bilateral Forum.

The first Romanian female ambassador to the United Kingdom, Laura Popescu is currently also the president of Women in Diplomacy, a network that brings together London-based female diplomats. In this capacity, she spoke about the new generation of Romanian women ambassadors and about the important role and positive contribution of women in diplomacy.

The award ceremony took place at the Royal Over-Seas League, with ten distinctions being awarded to diplomats in London, by geographical and thematic categories. Last year, the European Diplomat of the Year was awarded to the EU ambassador to the United Kingdom.