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Canadian Minister of International Trade on visit to Romania
Canadian Minister of International Trade Peter Van Loan started an official visit to Romania on Thursday and Friday, informs the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) in a release.
The Canadian official will have a meeting with Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Teodor Baconschi on Friday. According to MAE, the meeting between Baconschi and Van Loan will offer the opportunity for discussing some aspects of common interest on the bilateral agenda, with emphasis on the opportunities of consolidating its economic component, as well as some questions connected to the many-sided cooperation between the two states within the international organizations they are members of.
The Canadian official also meet President of the Senate Mircea Geoana, Dan Stefan Motreanu, Vice-Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, as well as Secretary of State with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and the Business Environment Maria Parcalabescu.
The Comprehensive Economic Agreement between Canada and the European Union, the conclusions of the recent G20 meeting and the visa issues were the main topics tackled by Romanian Senate Chairman Mircea Geoana and a visiting Canadian delegation headed by International Trade Minister Peter Van Loan during a meeting on Thursday.
Geoana said the talks had focused on the importance Romania attaches to the successful conclusion of the talks between Canada and the EU and he added the Agreement could be concluded in 2011 and it could represent not only a big advantage to both sides, but also an example for a similar accord with the United States.
The discussion also targeted the balance that should be found between the austerity measures and the budget balance as well as the measures for the economic recovery and the creation of jobs, following the conclusions of the last G20 meeting, Geoana said.
On the issue of lifting the visa rules for Romanians, Van Loan highlighted the 'significant progress recorded by Romania in attaining the standards' and he pointed out that 'Canada's clear option is to introduce visa-free travels for the Romanian citizens'.
The two officials also approached the issue of the visit that the Romanian Senate Chairman is to pay to Canada in this autumn.
The visit paid to Romania by the Canadian Minister of International Trade is part of a regional tour, which also includes such countries as the Russian Federation, Estonia, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Slovakia.