Actmedia – Report of a Lecture by Titus Corlatean, Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs

Actmedia (Romanian Newspaper) - May 27th, 2013; An article by Actmedia reports on the speech delivered by Titus Corlatean, Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, at the ICD's 2013 International Symposium on Cultural Diplomacy in the Levant 2013. Minister Corlatean spoke on the necessity of the use of Cultural Diplomacy in the stabilization of the current situation in the Levant zone, particularly in Syria. More information on ICD international conferences and the International Symposium on Cultural Diplomacy in the Levant can be found at www.icd-conferences.org
  May 27th, 2013

Romania is Ready to Help Syria Stabilize its Situation

Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Titus Corlatean, on Friday stated that Romania, based on its own experience of transition to democracy, is ready to help with the stabilization of the situation is Syria, while continuing to cooperate with the other countries in the Levant zone too.

‘The Levant is a diverse region, some states, which are members of the EU, being more developed than others that are about to become members; also, some of these countries are our partners in NATO or are consolidated democracies, such as our strategic partner Turkey, while others are just beginning the transition from an authoritarian regime to a system that can provide the safety, rights and liberties of their citizens. The Arab Spring represented a turning point for the countries in this area. We are fully aware of the global signification of these evolutions in the Middle East. Romania has been encouraging the dialogue and contacts with its partners in the region and also at global level, pleading for a rapid stabilization of the situation here and promoting the need of a profound transformation. Cultural diplomacy can also contribute to this process’, said Corlatean at the Parliament Palace, on the occasion of the seminar dubbed ‘Levant, the Cradle of Dultural Diplomacy: Rediscovering the Mediterranean’. He added that Romania enjoys a special relation with countries in the Levant zone, both while considering it from a cultural or geographical perspective, and also that the country is ready to share from its experience as a NATO and EU member state with its friends and partners in the region.

‘Romania will continue to cooperate with the countries in this region, based on mutual respect and interest. Trade exchanges between Romania and the Levant countries have totaled 7 billion dollars last year, which is a good thing, but we want to consolidate this cooperation’, said the Foreign Affairs Ministers. Corlatean reminded also the case of Syria, ‘where diplomacy failed’ and a solution needs to be found.

‘It is a tragedy what happened there, in Syria, and Romania is ready to help the peacemaking process, while sharing from its own experience of transition to democracy, respect for the rights and values of the various minorities involved, because of our friendship with Syria’, said Corlatean.