Romanian - Turkish cooperation memorandum on diplomatic archives and historiography

Romanian and Turkish Foreign Ministers Bogdan Aurescu and Mevlut Cavusoglu signed on Friday a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation on diplomatic archives, a document that will provide a solid basis for the development of cooperation programs in the field of historiography on subjects of common interest, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a release.

The signing event took place at the end of the meeting of Ministers Aurescu and Cavusoglu, on the sidelines of the Romania-Poland-Turkey trilateral meeting in Istanbul, where the two top diplomats also discussed the proposal of the Turkish side to create a bilateral format such as a joint government meeting of the two states, to stimulate political interaction and the further development of the bilateral strategic partnership.

In this context, the two Foreign Ministers proceeded to a brief assessment of the evolution of trade exchanges and mutual investments, as the volume of trade between Romania and Turkey reached approximately 8.6 billion US dollars in 2021.

The security situation generated by Russia's illegal war against Ukraine was also a major topic of discussion between the two chief diplomats.

Against the background of the multidimensional implications of the Russian military aggression, the two officials also approached topics of interest in the field of energy security, with emphasis on the need to reduce dependence on Russian gas. Concrete aspects of cooperation in this area were tackled, including the transit of natural gas through Turkey and the diversification of routes and supply sources.

Minister Aurescu also emphasized the need to find solutions, through joint action, for the creation of a shipping corridor with a maritime component through the Black Sea in order to facilitate the transport of Ukrainian grain, as well as for ensuring protection against drifting mines. He also spoke about Romania's efforts to support this process. In his turn, the Turkish Foreign Minister briefed on his country's various efforts to this end.

The Romanian Foreign Minister underlined Romania's support for NATO's open door policy, pointing out that Romania supports Finland and Sweden's NATO membership, following the submission of their applications on May 18. Aurescu also welcomed Turkey's dialogue with the two Nordic states for overcoming the current deadlock around their accession bid. AGERPRES