1. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha met with her Romanian counterpart Teodor Viorel Melescanu on November 23, and engaged in a broad exchange of views on ways to step up cooperation between the Republic of Korea and Romania, cooperation on the global stage, and the situations on the Korean Peninsula and in Europe.

※ Minister Melescanu will make an official visit to the ROK from November 22 till 24. (It marks the first visit to the ROK by a Romanian Foreign Minister in five years.)

※ Romanian Minister for Business Environment, Commerce and Entrepreneurship Oprea, who visited the ROK with Minister Melescanu, was also present at the meeting.

2. Minister Kang welcomed Minister Melescanu’s first official visit to the ROK, and took note that the ROK and Romania had become strategic partners in a short period of time since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1990. She also voiced hope that the 10th anniversary of the establishment of a strategic partnership this year would become a new opportunity to take the bilateral relations to a higher level.

o Foreign Minister Melescanu extended appreciation for the ROK side’s warm hospitality. He also said that the ROK was Romania’s important cooperation partner and first strategic partner in Asia, and noted that the two countries were closely working together not only on bilateral issues, including high-level exchanges and economic cooperation, but also on regional and global issues.

3. The two sides expressed satisfaction over the fact that robust economic cooperation between the two countries was underway on the basis of Romania’s steady economic growth, and Korean companies’ active business activities in Romania. They also agreed to continue to work to increase trade and investment between the two countries based on the ROK-EU FTA.

o In particular, Minister Kang conveyed concern that the EU’s provisional safeguard measures on steel which were recently implemented could have a negative impact on mutually-beneficial trade between the ROK and the EU, and on their efforts to jointly respond to trade protectionism. She asked for the Romanian side’s interest and cooperation to make sure that final measures are not adopted.

o In addition, the two sides agreed to work together to make concrete progress in cooperation projects in a range of areas, including the construction of large-scale transport facilities and infrastructure, such as railways and highways, in Romania; the modernization of nuclear power plants in Romania; and ICT and e-government. They also agreed to facilitate exchanges in the cultural and academic sectors.

4. Minister Kang extended congratulations on Romania’s EU presidency in the first half of 2019, and hoped that the ROK and Romania would continue to closely work together on issues on the Korean Peninsula and global issues.

o The two Ministers exchanged views on the latest developments in the EU, including those regarding Brexit, and agreed to continue robust cooperation within the UN and other international organizations.

5. Minister Kang talked about the latest progress in the situation on the Korean Peninsula, including the outcome of the third inter-Korean summit, held in Pyeongyang in September, and asked for the Romanian government’s continued support for the ROK government’s efforts to completely denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, and to establish a lasting peace on the Peninsula.

o Minister Melescanu took note that the ROK government’s leading efforts created an atmosphere of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, and said that Romania would continue to support the ROK government’s such efforts.

6. The ROK-Romania Foreign Ministers’ meeting served as an opportunity for the two countries, marking the 10th anniversary of their strategic partnership, to review the progress in advancing the ROK-Romania relations, and to exchange constructive views on ways to increase cooperation in the future.

* unofficial translation