The Minister for European and International Affairs of the Land Baden-Württemberg (Germany), Peter Friedrich visited Romania, on April 3 – 5, 2013, at the invitation of Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlăţean. On the occasion of the visit, Minister Friedrich also traveled to Giurgiu and to Ruse (Bulgaria) to discuss EUSDR projects with local decision-makers.
During the meeting of Minister Friedrich and Minister Corlăţean, which took place on April 4, 2013, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania, the two sides discussed the stage of the projects developed in the framework of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, a macro-regional cooperation platform to which, on the background of their substantial bilateral relationship, Romania and Baden-Württemberg make an important contribution. The Ministers agreed that direct cooperation should be encouraged between communities, municipalities, and administrative regions in the Danube region so as to generate projects likely to have a beneficial impact on the well-being of citizens.
The Romanian Foreign Minister highlighted that an important moment for making the most of the success already obtained in implementing the EU Strategy for the Danube Region will be the second Annual Forum due in Bucharest (28 – 29 October 2013), which he invited Minister Friedrich to attend.
During his visit, Minister Peter Friedrich also had business meetings with the Minister for Regional Development and Public Administration, Liviu Dragnea, the Minister for European Funds, Eugen Orlando Teodorovici, and the State Secretary for European Affairs within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, George Ciamba.
In addition, on the final day of his visit, Minister Friedrich met the Governor of Ruse Region, Stefko Burdzhiev, as well as the Mayors of Giurgiu, Nicolae Barbu, and Ruse, Plamen Stoilov. Some of the main points of discussion concerned the opportunities for cross-border cooperation between Giurgiu and Ruse, strategies of development for the public administrations of the two regions and key priorities within the EU Strategy for the Danube Regions, such as competitiveness, protection of the environment and strengthening the civil society.
