Chancellor Angela Merkel thanked President Klaus Iohannis, who she said has done much for democracy and the rule of law in Romania.

2017 marks several anniversaries in German-Romanian relations, said Angela Merkel at a joint press conference with Klaus Iohannis at the Federal Chancellery. They include the 25th anniversary of the German-Romanian Friendship Treaty, as well as the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations being established between the two countries, and the 10th anniversary of Romania’s accession to the European Union.

The German minority in Romania acts as an important bridge between the two societies, said the Chancellor. The President himself is the best example.

In Romania, the Goethe Institute, ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen), the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the German Academic Exchange Service, the Central Agency for German Schools Abroad and the German political foundations all operate. Since 1999 Romania has operated the cultural institute "Titu Maiorescu" in Berlin. It acts as an ambassador for Romanian culture using exhibitions, concerts and lectures as vehicles.

Economic relations developing well

The two sides also discussed German-Romanian economic relations, which have been developing in an extremely dynamic fashion, said the Chancellor. With respect to digitalisation, President Klaus Iohannis has given his assurances that Romania is a very good location for IT companies. Angela Merkel said, "These are the sectors we have to focus on." In this context the Chancellor pointed to the European Council meeting this week, at which digitalisation will be a point on the agenda.

Germany is an important trading partner for Romania, and with investments worth almost 8 billion euros in 2015 it ranks third among foreign direct investors in the country. Officially, there are 21,449 companies with German subscribed share capital in Romania. Adjusted figures put the number actually active in the Romanian market at around 8,000. In 2015, bilateral trade was worth 23.3 billion euros (Romanian exports to Germany were worth 10.8 billion euros and Romanian imports from Germany 12.5 billion euros), an increase of 9.4 per cent compared with the previous year. In the first seven months of 2016, bilateral trade was worth 14.93 billion euros.

Shared standpoints for the European Council

Angela Merkel pointed out that Germany and Romania would be representing the same points of view on the items on the agenda of this week’s European Council meeting. She gave the examples of the fight on terrorism, climate change mitigation and migration policy. In the field of migration policy, the aim will be to make progress on protecting the external borders.

With a view to Libya the Chancellor mentioned the need to achieve stability in countries of origin of migrants. She reported that they had discussed the situation in the region and stressed that the spirit of cooperation is important in this context. It will not be possible to resolve the conflicts in either Syria or Yemen against the will of certain countries.