United Kingdom’s new ambassador to Romania, Giles Portman has officially begun his duties in the country.
He has held various roles in diplomacy and worked in countries, including the United States, the Permanent Representation of the United Kingdom to the United Nations in New York; Belgium, the Permanent British Representation in Brussels; at the British Embassy in Prague, Czechia; and Turkey, as the Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Ankara.
The new UK ambassador is married and with two children. His expertise is in European affairs which he gained during various positions within the EU Department and later the Europe Department of the British Foreign Office.
He replaces former British ambassador, Andrew Noble, who left in October 2023.
The number of British tourists to Romania could be much higher and there is a huge potential for tourism to grow, as Romania’s big advantage is its wild countryside, which can be really appealing to tourists in Europe, the incoming Bristish ambassador to Romania Giles Portmant told Agerpres in a recent interview.
„I think (…) that’s Romania’s big advantage that it has this pristine, wild countryside, which can be really, really appealing to tourists in Europe who are always looking for a short trip away. Romania is three hours by flight from the UK. There are many, many flights and airports serving Romanian cities. And I think in my four or five years here, there’s a huge potential for tourism to grow as long as it’s the right kind of tourism, which is high end, sustainable quality tourism”, said the ambassador in his first interview after taking office.
Portman added that more British become increasingly more aware that King Charles is very attached to Romania.
„When I first found out I was coming here, sort of 18 months ago, I don’t think many people knew that King Charles was so attached to Romania and visited so often. But now you see more and more coverage of that fact in the UK (…) I know it’s really appreciated here in Romania and I think it’s becoming increasingly understood now in the UK too,’ the ambassador said.
The UK firmly supports the Republic of Moldova’s capabilities in terms of resisting to Russian threats, in the context of the war in Ukraine, as well as the peaceful reintegration of Transnistria fully into the Republic of Moldova, UK Ambassador in Bucharest Giles Portman told Agerpres in an interview.
„So as regards the Republic of Moldova, we firmly support its capabilities in terms of resisting Russian threats. I would say two things. Firstly, that there is of course a Russian presence in Transnistria. That is a presence which is contrary to international law. So Russian troops and a Russian presence should leave Transnistria. And the second thing I would say is that we support the peaceful reintegration of Transnistria fully into the Republic of Moldova. That has to be an internal conversation. Both parties need to engage diplomatically and in good faith and reach a solution to that. It needs to be an internal solution, but of course we give it our support externally”, Portman detailed.
Asked on how great he estimated the danger of Russian disinformation campaigns, in election year in many states, Giles Portman, who has led East StratCom Task Force, a unit of the European External Action Service, combating addressing Russia’s disinformation campaigns, he explained that it is a constantly changing challenge, existing at present as well as when it started being monitored.
„I think the lesson of the last few years is that we were right to be concerned and we were right to call out Russian disinformation. The purpose of it is to divide us and to confuse us and to excuse unacceptable Russian behaviour. And that’s as much the case now as when we started tracking this information. And any opportunity will be taken to cause divisions in society and to sow discord, including elections. We just all need to be aware in this massively important year for elections in Romania, in the UK, in the United States, in many other countries.”
„We have to carry on upskilling, carry on sharing information and increasing society’s resilience against the challenge and the threat of external disinformation,” he said, mentioning that proximity to Russia does not necessarily make certain countries more vulnerable, as they are more aware of it.
„That’s not necessarily the pattern I discerned when I worked in East Stratcom. Actually, sometimes the closer you are to the threat, the more aware you are of it. And sometimes it was countries further away that were less aware of the challenge. So I don’t think it’s easy to draw simple conclusions like that. I think it’s important to carry on sharing experience and best practice and all countries and partners can contribute to that overall picture of the disinformation ecosystem”, Portman said.
