May 6, 2005

THE VISIT OF THE ROMANIAN MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, MIHAI –RAZAN UNGUREANU,
TO WASHINGTON , D.C.

(4 – 6 May 2005 )

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mihai – Razvan Ungureanu, met, on Thursday, with the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, on the occasion of the Romanian official's visit to the United States. The meeting was followed by a joint press conference.

During the meeting, the US Secretary of State commended the positive evolutions taking place in Romania on a regional, as well as on a global level, through its presence as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and through Romania 's contribution to fighting terrorism. During the press conference, Condoleezza Rice has particularly thanked Romania for the role it plays in promoting freedom and democracy.

Following the dialogue between President Traian Basescu and US President George W. Bush, during his recent visit to Washington , the status of the strategy for US forces relocation and the relevance of this process to Romania were also addressed. Condoleezza Rice has declared, in this context, that an American inter-agency team will travel to Romania next weeks in order to begin formal negotiations with the Romanian officials regarding the positioning of US military facilities in Romania. Thus, the process is moving from its technical and military evaluation phase to the political and juridical negotiation phase.

The issue of eliminating visas for the Romanian citizens visiting the USA was also discussed. Next week, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs will travel to Bucharest in order to discuss the « Roadmap » which will mark the beginning of the preparation process at the end of which Romania should fulfill the requirements needed for the elimination of visas for its citizens.

During the first two days of his visit to Washington, the Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs met with Stephen Hadley, National Security Advisor, Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Senator George Allen, Chairman of the Subcommittee for Europe, Senate Foreign Relation Committee, Tom Lantos, ranking member of the Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives as well as with the former US Secretaries of State, Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell.

The discussions focused on the bilateral relations, as well as regional issues, like the Black Sea region and the Balkans, the cooperation between Romania and the US in promoting freedom, democracy and fighting terrorism.

On Thursday, May 5 th , the Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs delivered a speech at the Annual Dinner of the American Jewish Committee. Also present at the event were John Negroponte, director of National Intelligence, representatives of the Administration, members of the Congress, leaders of the Jewish Community, representatives of think-tanks, opinion leaders and journalists.

In his speech, the Romanian official highlighted Romania 's commitment to promote tolerance and respect for human rights, and the efforts made by the Government to come to terms with the legacy of the past. At the same time, the Minister announced that Romania is ready to host, in 2006, the OSCE Conference on Anti-Semitism and other forms of intolerance.

Last, but not least, the Minister had a meeting, on May 5 th , with James Billington, Librarian of Congress. The Library of Congress, one of the most important libraries in the world, is home to a Romanian department with over 75,000 volumes from or about Romania . On this occasion, the hosts presented Minister Ungureanu some of the most valuable volumes of the Romanian department, including the reflections in the United States of the works of Dimitrie Cantemir and an original manuscript of George Enescu.

Minsiter Ungureanu had also a meeting with the members of the Board of Washington Times.

On Friday, May 6 th , Minister Ungureanu will meet John Negroponte, director of National Intelligence and Nicholas Burns, Under Secretary of State for political affairs. Minister Ungureanu will also attend, together with Ms. Paula Dobriansky, Under Secretary of State for global affairs, a meeting with media representatives and will deliver a speech on “Advancing Romania's EU Membership and the Strategic Partnership with the US”, at a conference organized by the Woodrow Wilson Center, in cooperation with University of Maryland.