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ForMin Bogdan Aurescu, at the ministerial meeting of the Alliance for Multilateralism via videoconference
Romania's Foreign Affairs Minister Bogdan Aurescu on Wednesday delivered a speech to a ministerial meeting of the Alliance for Multilateralism via videoconference on measures needed to overcome the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
The event was hosted by France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian, and Germany's Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs Heiko Maas. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the high-level segment of the UN Human Rights Council, according to a press statement released by the Romanian Foreign Ministry (MAE).
In his remarks, Aurescu emphasised the importance of consolidating, in the current international context, rule-based multilateralism, as multilateral approach is the only one that can overcome the health crisis and its consequences.
At the same time, he said that vaccination against the new coronavirus and other diseases must be a major global public goal. He pointed out the need to step up efforts to reduce the gap in vaccine distribution between developed and fragile countries. At the same time, he showed that Romania decided in December 2020 to donate 200,000 doses of vaccine to the Republic of Moldova.
Regarding the creation and implementation of recovery policies, the head of Romanian diplomacy advocated for human rights being observed by taking into account the needs of the most vulnerable, including women and girls, and for strengthening economic and social resilience, according to MAE.
Wednesday's event brought together foreign ministers from around the world and representatives of international organisations and provided an opportunity to address issues relevant to the global context, such as: human rights in the digital environment; climate change and human rights; preparedness and response to the global health crisis. The gender dimension was also highlighted during the talks.
The Alliance for Multilateralism is an informal platform designed to attract and generate flexible forms of co-operation around topics of interest for supporting and promoting a multilateral international order, based on international law. The alliance was initiated by the foreign ministers of France and Germany in 2019.
The objectives of the alliance include: protecting and promoting international law and international institutions; launching initiatives for the development and strengthening of the multilateral system; reforming and modernising existing international organisations to make them more inclusive and effective in providing tangible results for the citizens.
Romania has so far been associated with several initiatives within the alliance: the Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace and the Joint statement by the Group of Friends on Climate and Security. On April 24, 2020, Romania also endorsed the Ministerial Declaration of the Alliance for Multilateralism "We need strong global co-operation and solidarity to fight COVID-19," a document that voices support and solidarity for multilateral action amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, on August 7, 2020, Romania joined the declaration "Strengthening the multilateral health architecture," adopted by a ministerial meeting of June 26, 2020. During a meeting of the platform on the sidelines of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, held on September 25, Romania endorsed the Alliance for Multilateralism's Declaration of Principles.