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ForMin Corlatean met US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz in Washington
Romania's Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean, on a visit to the U.S., stressed on Tuesday during his meeting with U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, the interest of the Bucharest authorities in reinforcing the Romania-U.S. Strategic Partnership and in widening its economic dimension, by emphasizing the role of the energy document.
In the context, the head of Romanian diplomacy discussed with the U.S. official about the possibility that the U.S. might provide support with a view to updating Romania's national energy strategy, the Romanian Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) reports in a release.
Corlatean reiterated Romania's interest in deepening the EU-U.S. dialogue as regards energy, for a consolidated approach at the Euro-Atlantic level, which shall generate a more efficient management of the emerging regional issues of energy security, by underscoring the need to enforce effective policies, meant to re-establish the security of Europe's energy supply and provide Ukraine with alternative viable energy resources.
In addition, Corlatean stressed the support of Romania's Government for the successful completion of the future Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) in the energy sector, especially concerning the diversification of resources, the energy trade and the liberalization of the energy market.
Referring to the regional energy security, in the context of the events in Romania's proximity, the Romanian minister restated the need to improve the inter-connectivity of energy infrastructure in Eastern Europe, especially as regards the Republic of Moldova, and to promote inter-regional energy projects enabling European market's connection to alternative gas resources, such as those in the Caspian and Mediterranean region and the Middle East.
Furthermore, Corlatean underscored the determination of Romania's Government in taking action aimed at reinforcing the presence of relevant U.S. companies in Romania and attracting American investments in the process for the modernization of the economy, with emphasis both on ensuring a transparent and predictable business milieu and the advantages of Romania's geostrategic positioning for the energy companies seeking to carry out exploration or production activities.
In his turn, Ernest Moniz hailed the Romanian authorities' actions to set up an optimal legislative and institutional framework for foreign investments and implicitly, the American investments in energy. In addition, he reiterated the American interest in the projects aimed at boosting the energy independence of European states, Romania included, especially in the regional context of the Ukraine crisis, by diversifying resources and increasing the number of gas suppliers.
Moniz also referred to the United States' interest in drawing up its own complex energy strategy, by stressing the importance that needs to be attached to the energy efficiency, at the same time providing a balanced energy mixture, by integrating the energy systems from renewable sources and electricity. In this context, the official reiterated the openness to deepening the Romanian-U.S. relation as regards strategic approaches through mutual exchanges of experience and sectoral analyses.