Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is hosting the Annual Meeting of Romanian Diplomacy (RADR 2023) themed „A firm foreign policy of Romania: managing challenges and maximising opportunities” on August 29-30.
Attendance this year is in person, after three virtual editions.
The event, held close to the Day of Romanian Diplomacy – marked annually on September 1 – and hosted by Foreign Minister Luminita Odobescu, brings together the heads of diplomatic missions, consular offices, as well as directors of Romania’s cultural institutes from abroad, alongside high-ranking Romanian state officials and members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited in Romania.
Prestigious leaders of think tanks, NGOs, mass media, and academia are invited. Odobescu’s special guests will be her counterparts from Chile, Alberto van Klaveren Stork, and Lithuania, Gabrielius Landsbergis.
„The main theme of the Annual Meeting of Romanian Diplomacy in 2023 is focused on the reaffirmation of Romania’s foreign policy priorities, by managing challenges and in the perspective of capitalising on the opportunities generated by the current international environment. Amidst the ongoing war of aggression waged by Russia in Ukraine, it is obvious the centrality of security stakes, as well as the need to intensify diplomatic dialogue and related socio-economic efforts in order to strengthen the security architecture and the rules-based international order in a wider framework of joint efforts of the community of democracies”, MAE has stated.
The Romanian diplomats and their special guests will touch on guidelines for diplomatic action appropriate for the multiple overlapping challenges and crises, often interconnected, that the international community is facing. Coming up with firm answers, in the spirit of the solid values and principles in which Romania is anchored, contributes to the consolidation of its role as a security provider in the region and to its relevance as a credible, resilient partner, part of the European and Euro-Atlantic community.
The second working day will comprise thematic plenary sessions, attended by guests from the government apparatus. Discussed will be the contribution of Romanian diplomacy to the consolidation of the European design; economic development strategies; the imperative of climate change, green and digital transition; the organisation, abroad, of the three rounds of elections in 2024, with an emphasis on the smooth running of electoral processes abroad; the role of Romanian missions in promoting cultural diplomacy and scientific co-operation.
On the sidelines of RADR 2023, there will also be working sessions that will provide an opportunity for in-depth discussions between Odobescu and the MAE leadership and heads of missions to identify the lines of diplomatic approach adjusted for the specifics of geographical spaces and international institutions in which they represent the interests of Romania.
Another plenary session will focus on optimising and increasing the quality of consular services to the benefit of Romanian citizens abroad.
Odobescu will have a meeting with Romanian diplomats holding leading positions in international organisations to reflect on the promotion of effective multilateralism. At the same time, Romanian-Chilean and Romanian-Lithuanian bilateral consultations will take place at the level of the foreign ministers.
An assessment of the activity of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the last year as well as an analysis of the international challenges that Romania must face in the future are made. Also, the meeting allows the identification of effective ways to achieve the pursued priority objectives amid global, transatlantic, European and regional developments. The debates are equally designed to identify opportunities that have to be seized, and to draw the main guidelines for the action of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Romanian diplomatic service in the short, medium and long term.
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