Czech and Romanian foreign ministers sign memorandum of understanding

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský met with his Romanian counterpart, Luminitsa Odobescu, in Bucharest on Tuesday to sign a memorandum of understanding between the two countries' foreign ministries and to discuss a number of topics including support for Ukraine and Moldova against Russia, economic cooperation, and the Czech minority living in Romania. The pair agreed that dialogue between Czechia and Romania needs to be strengthened, with the memorandum they signed intended to ensure that the countries establish more regular and intensive cooperation at the governmental and expert level.

Lipavský stated at a press conference after the meeting that he believes it will be possible for Romania's ethnic Czech population, the majority of whom live in the southwest of the country, to have its own representation in the next Romanian parliament, and thanked the Romanian government for its long-term support of the minority group. For her part, Luminitsa Odobescu said that the Romanian Czechs represent a bridge between the two nations and contribute to the cultural diversity of Romanian society.

The two ministers also discussed security, Romania's role on NATO's eastern flank, and its entry into the Schengen area and the OECD, both of which Czechia supports, as well as the deepening of economic cooperation between the two countries, with Lipavský seeing opportunities for Czech companies in the development and modernisation of Romanian infrastructure and Odobescu seeing potential for increased cooperation in the transport, energy, tourism and education sectors.