(Communicated by the President’s Spokesperson)
President Reuven Rivlin today (Thursday, 26 April 2018), met at his residence in Jerusalem with Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă who was making an official visit to Israel. The Prime Minister was joined by the President of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies Liviu Dragnea, and Foreign Minister Teodor Meleșcanu.
The President began by thanking the Prime Minister, the Romanian Government and Parliament, for their decision to relocate the Romanian Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. He said, “I would like to welcome the distinguished Prime Minister and the ministers who are with her on this visit, which takes place at a significant time after Romania's decision to transfer its embassy to Jerusalem.”
The President noted the warm ties between the two countries over the years and added, “It is wonderful to receive here in our capital, Jerusalem, leaders of a government that is promoting the close cooperation between our countries. This cooperation and partnership is not just between our governments, but between people.”
The President went on to hold a wide-ranging discussion with the Prime Minister on a number of key issues, including the Jewish community in Romania, and the work being done in the Romanian Parliament to promote the community’s well-being. The President said, “I would like to thank you, Madam Prime Minister, for your great attention to the need to fight anti-Semitism, and for your concern for the Jewish community in Romania. The Romanian community in Israel has great influence in all the areas of life in the State of Israel in its 70 years of existence.”
Prime Minister Dancila thanked the President and said, “This is an important opportunity to meet with you. As I said we are here as friends, and with me is the President of the Chamber of Deputies, and the Foreign Minister, and we see great importance in the friendly relationship between Israel and Romania. It is true, there has been a decision taken by the Government to move the embassy to Jerusalem, and we are consulting in the issue with all the institutions in the country. The first step has been taken and it is important for us to implement the decision, but unfortunately we do not have support from all the parties as we would like.” She added, “Yesterday we met with Prime Minister Netanyahu and we decided to hold a meeting between the two governments, to build as close a link as possible.”
During their meeting, the two discussed the regional situation and recent developments in the Middle East with regard to opportunities and challenges.