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Bucharest, June 12 /Agerpres/ - Energy supply will be an essential element of the dialogue between Romania and Georgia, with the two countries expected to approach the matter as part of the regional dialogue as well, Romanian Foreign Minister Cristian Diaconescu told a joint conference in Bucharest on Friday with his Georgian counterpart Grigol Vashadze, who is on an official visit to Bucharest. 'We also approached the economic dimension of bilateral cooperation given that in the period immediately ahead consultations at relevant levels will be held concerning cooperation between Romania and Georgia in the Black Sea zone, in the field of energy. Energy will be an essential element in the dialogue ahead between Romania and Georgia, and we will try together to tackle this issue as part of the regional dialogue, as regards both the Black Sea zone and Central Asia,' said Diaconescu. In his turn, Vashadze underscored the need for cooperation in identifying alternative energy supply solutions for Europe, arguing that Georgia and Romania can play a very important role in that. Diaconescu assured his Georgian counterpart that Romania maintains its position on Georgia as far as the observance of Georgia's territorial integrity is concerned and also Georgia's aspirations for acceding to NATO and the European Union. 'We have voiced readiness to continue support for Georgia within this process. Concretely, there will be some cooperation projects in the immediate future for Georgia's accession to the North-Atlantic Alliance and the European Union, that will be carried out by the specialist departments of the two foreign ministries,' said Diaconescu. He also confirmed Romania's interest in and determination to participate in the EU monitoring mission in Georgia, underscoring that the monitoring of the implementation of the ceasefire agreement signed in August 2008 continues to be necessary, and the EU mission play an important part to this end. 'Georgia will remain a priority in Romania's development assistance policy, and in this area we will discuss a series of highly important projects for both countries,' said Diaconescu. Vashadze mentioned that his conversations in Bucharest are very useful, reiterating that Romania has supported Georgia in all circumstances and within the international organisations, referring to its support for Georgia's territorial integrity and humanitarian aspects. Our bilateral relations, he said, are exemplary and we discussed how we can bring it to the next level and how to deepen them and made them more fruitful to the benefit of both countries. The most important aspect, he added, is that the Romanian colleagues and counterparts are ready to share their experience with NATO and EU integration and we will gratefully receive their help and advice. Georgia's Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze paid late last week an official visit to Bucharest, at the invitation of his Romanian counterpart Cristian Diaconescu. The Romanian Foreign Ministry mentions that the visit is part of a systematic political dialogue between the two countries that are part of the extended Black Sea zone and confirms Romania's commitment to support the territorial integrity and European as well as Euro-Atlantic aspirations of Georgia. Since 2007, Georgia has been a constant presence among Romania's priorities for development assistance. So far, 765,000 euros have been earmarked for development assistance, to which 1.3 million euros in emergency humanitarian aid in the wake of the August 2008 conflict were added, consisting mainly of medical products and equipment. Romania has also been contributing to the EUMM civilian monitoring mission in Georgia, deployed after the August 2008 conflict between Georgia and Russia, being the fifth largest presence there.
[Source:
Romanian National News Agency
AGERPRES
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