Continued progress on reforms will further strengthen Romania's democratic and economic development and the economic partnership between Romania and the United States, US Vice President Joe Biden is quoted as saying in a readout of his meeting with Romania's Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos, posted on the White House website, Agerpres reports.
"The Vice President praised Prime Minister Ciolos's efforts to implement critically-needed governance and rule of law reforms, noting that continued progress on reforms will further strengthen Romania's democratic and economic development and the economic partnership between Romania and the United States."
The Vice President thanked Prime Minister Ciolos for Romania's contributions to the Counter-ISIL Coalition and to the NATO mission in Afghanistan, and he expressed condolences over the deaths of two Romanian soldiers killed in Afghanistan on May 7.
The leaders agreed on the importance of ensuring that Allies take steps in the lead-up to the July 8-9 NATO Summit in Warsaw to strengthen the Alliance's deterrence and defense posture on the eastern and southern flanks.
Biden and Ciolos also discussed the importance of the development of Romania's energy sector to European energy security and noted the need to support and accelerate Moldova's reform efforts.
"In the lead-up to the incoming NATO summit in Warsaw, I have requested and obtained the US support as well as a promise for support to strengthen Black Sea navy cooperation," Ciolos said Tuesday after meeting Biden at the White House.
"I have explained Romania's demarches so far in cooperation with Bulgaria and Turkey and I got a promise for support at the summit for the Black Sea cooperation to be sustained by NATO," added Ciolos.
He said at the meeting he also made a request for support for a multinational brigade on Romania's soil, again in partnership with the NATO member states, a brigade that Romania has pledged to endow, all this as part of the deterrence and defence system on the entire eastern flank of Europe, not just in the north-eastern part, but also in the south-eastern part."
The Biden-Ciolos meeting was hosted in the West Wing of the White House, located close to the Oval Office, and it lasted about one hour and ten minutes, instead of half an hour as officially scheduled.
Accompanying Ciolos were Romania's Ambassador to the United States George Cristian Maior, Energy Minister Victor Grigorescu, Agriculture Minister Achim Irimescu, Prime Minister's Chancellery head Dragos Tudorache, Foreign Policy Advisor Calin Ungur and Government Spokesman Dan Suciu.
Biden came at the meeting with U.S. ambassador to Romania Hans Klemm, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland, his National Security Advisor Colin Kahl, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy James Townsend. The American delegation also included two special assistants to U.S. President Barack Obama.