President Reuven and First Lady Nechama Rivlin on Monday morning (7 March 2016) hosted an official welcome ceremony for President of Romania, H.E. Mr. Klaus Iohannis and his wife Mrs. Carmen Iohannis at the President's Residence, marking the beginning of their state visit to Israel. The President and First Lady welcomed their guests on the red carpet before the playing of the national anthems, after which both Presidents reviewed a guard of honor. The Presidents then went on to deliver statements, before holding a working meeting during which they discussed the strengthening of bilateral ties between the two countries.

 

In his remarks to the media, President Rivlin welcomed President Iohannis and praised the warm relationship between the two countries. He said, "In the last decades, there have been many advancements in the relationship between our countries, evidenced in the wealth of cooperation between us; in trade, in science, in economics, and a range of other fields. I want to thank you for the support you have displayed, on more than one occasion, for Israel and for the strengthening of the ties between us. Israel would be especially pleased to widen our cooperation in the fields of cyber, agriculture, healthcare, and industrial development."

 

The President stressed Israel's concern regarding regional developments in the Middle East, key among them the threat of Iran. He said, "Iran represents a significant danger to the well-being of Israel, directly and indirectly. Just a week ago, one of Iran's leaders voiced his forceful rejection of the State of Israel's very right to exist. Such threats serve to deepen the concern throughout the Middle East, and continue to position Iran as an insidious threat to regional stability."

 

The President concluded by thanking the President of Romania for his country's efforts to preserve the memory of the Holocaust, and against antisemitism, and said, "I want to express my appreciation to Romania for its role as president of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. I am certain that you will continue to act, and remain dedicated, to facing the many challenges of the phenomena of antisemitism, racism, and hatred."

 

President Iohannis thanked the President for the warm welcome, and spoke about the strong bond between the two states, and the importance of safeguarding Israel's security. "Romania places special importance on its relationship with the State of Israel, and this visit is aimed at both honoring the history of our relations, and at looking to the future. The continuous relationship is based on a history of 68 years of shared values and traditions which continue to develop. The discussions we will hold during my visit will strengthen further our relations, and the political and economic dialog between us. I have come here with a desire to open up new areas of cooperation in research and information technology, where I believe we have tremendous potential. We understand that the safeguarding of Israel's security is essential, significant, and not up for comprise. The fight against terror demands of us, of Romania, determination. We are part of the alliance against the Islamic State out of  the understanding of the need to stand up against terrorism and achieve the common goal of global peace and prosperity."

 

President Iohannis went on to speak of the importance Romania saw in education and commemoration of the Holocaust, and said, "Tomorrow Romania is due to receive the chairmanship of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. This exhibits our commitment to the past and the memory of the Holocaust, and the struggle against anti-Semitism and hatred. Romania considers this role a responsibility and an honor, and it is my hope we play a central role in our region in the commemoration of the Holocaust, and the fight against anti-Semitism. I am greatly optimistic toward the future cooperation between our countries, and am very pleased to be here."

 

The two Presidents then went on to hold an extended meeting in which they discussed in greater depth the efforts to strengthen the bilateral ties between the two countries.

 

Later this evening, the President and First Lady Rivlin hosted a state dinner at their residence in honor of the visit by the President and First Lady of Romania.
 
President Rivlin began by stressing the long history of the warm relations between Israel and Romania. He noted, "Israel and Romania, have a long, and close friendship; we have held diplomatic relations, since 1948, and notably, in 2014 alone we signed together 17 agreements for cooperation."
 
He went on to speak about the importance of Holocaust education, and the challenge posed by those who refused to acknowledge the historic involvement of the many others who cooperated with the Nazis' persecution and murder of the Jews. He said, "In the last few years we have seen more and more attacks on history. Too many people have failed to take responsibility for their part in the Holocaust. The Government of Romania, however, recognizes the truth and took responsibility for the fate of the Jews of Romania. Today, you are doing so much to educate and keep alive their memory." He added, "The State of Israel and the Jewish people around the world appreciate this very much."
 
President Rivlin also congratulated the Romanian President's strong stand against corruption, and in support of democratic freedoms. He said, "Mr. President, your country and your people are not just brave when facing the challenges of the past. You are brave when facing the challenges of the present. You have taken a firm stand against corruption, and spoken clearly of the importance of the rule of law. You are a defender of freedom of speech, and freedom of press."
 
He concluded, "I wish you success, and many blessings in this important work, and may we continue to grow stronger together, in friendship and cooperation."
 
President Iohannis thanked the President and said, "My visit in Jerusalem today is an expression of our commitment to strengthen the political dialog between Romania and the State of Israel. Romania was one of the first countries to recognize and establish diplomat relations with the State of Israel in 1948. Our bilateral relations have developed over the years as a natural partnership based on common values and views on a wide range of international issues. In the economic field our cooperation includes a vast range of sectors, yet there is still much potential for further strengthening our economic relationship, and it is high time we worked to identify more opportunities it enhance it."
 
He added, "The community of Israelis originating from Romania is one of the most important communities in Israel both in terms of size and cohesion, and continues serve as a valuable bridge between Romania and Israel. I am very proud of the contribution of the community to the Israeli economy and its strength as a state."

PM Netanyahu meets with Romanian President Iohannis

(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)
 
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this afternoon (Monday, 7 March 2016), met with Romanian President Klaus Werner Iohannis, who is on an official visit to Israel accompanied by Romanian Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu and National Education and Scientific Research Minister Adrian Curaj. The two leaders first met privately and then held an expanded meeting. They discussed the deepening of bilateral ties in security and the war on terrorism, cyber, tourism, energy, water and agriculture.
 
Prime Minister Netanyahu thanked Romanian President Iohannis for his country's consistent support for Israel and also discussed with him a change in voting patterns in international forums.
 
Prime Minister Netanyahu:
 
"Mr. President, it's a pleasure to welcome you in Jerusalem. You're known as a friend of Israel. You are a friend of Israel. And Israel is a friend of yours and of Romania. I noticed when I looked at the notes in preparation for this meeting that Romania is the only country, the only European country that had consistently 67 years of diplomatic relations with Israel. So that's a powerful tradition.
 
That tradition is buttressed by a human bridge of people, Jews in Romania who contributed to Romanian life and 400,000 Jews from Romania who made a tremendous contribution to Israel in every field, in every aspect of our national life. So we have first a human contact, we have a cultural contact. You know, we all say we are Romanian in one way or the other and we certainly know these sentiments, we know the feelings, we know the great sympathies that connect our people. And this is not something that I'm just saying as a diplomatic courtesy – it's something that animates our relationship.
 
We've had Israelis who have come to Romania, invested there billions of dollars. We seek to increase our bilateral relations in a variety of areas and they are endless – they are in science and technology, they are in medicine and water-management, they are in defense and security, they are in cyber, they are in all areas of technology and basically every aspect of our activities, of our endeavors.
 
I would like very much to use this opportunity of your visit to advance this relationship, to move towards a G2G meeting that we can do to ensure that we are moving on a clear trajectory of improving even further our relationship. But above everything else, I see your visit here as an expression of the friendship between our two countries.
 
Let me say how much I appreciate the position you have taken and Romania has taken against anti-Semitism. It is important not only in the historical context but also in the context of the present and the future. The great slanders that were leveled at the Jewish people are now leveled at the state of the Jewish people, at the State of Israel. Israel which is a model democracy, not perfect but as good as any facing the challenges that we are facing, is being accused, falsely accused of so many things. For example, there's going to be a Women's Rights Day and Israel is going to be excoriated for its position on women by states that enslave women. This, in the only country in the Middle East which gives freedom, full equal rights not only to women, minorities, gays, everyone. So there's an aura of absurdity about it. But we have seen in the previous century that absurd slanders can become horrible tragedies.
 
So in that sense, the stance of Romania against anti-Semitism and also with Israel in European and international forums is much appreciated. It's standing up for the truth, but it's also standing up for our common civilization. You mentioned, Mr. President, correctly, the threats that go out from the Middle East and now cover the entire world – the threat of militant Islam under the Shiite leadership of Iran or the Sunni militant leadership of Daesh. These are threatening the entire world. When you look at the Middle East, there is one country – a    beacon of freedom, a beacon of democracy, of human rights that protects not only itself but by so doing protects everyone else, including Europe. It is this basic understanding that we wish to impart to our European friends. I think many of them understand it. I'm sure you do too, Mr. President. But it is the basis of our partnership, common values, a common civilization and a common future."