The balanced strategy of Romania to watch the international developments is obvious also in the extremely solid commitments assumed at the beginning of the week in Washington DC, where took place the fifth reunion of the Task-Force for the implementation of the Joint Declaration regarding the implementation of the Strategic Partnership for XXI Century between Romania and the United States of America.

In a various presence on multiple areas with the representatives of the Chancellery of the Prime-Minister, MAE, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Economy, the reunion ended with multiple agreements and a mutual statement, published on the site of the State Department and the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Unfortunately the document passed unseen through the multitude of political and electoral local events although it must end any type of controversy or differences between Washington and Bucharest aiming to tackle the regional topics of interest for our country. 

As I was saying, Romania proved its balance in dealing with the problems after what the President, Klaus Johannis, addressed with shades of difference the topic of the European Army, who aroused many controversies before the informal summit from Bratislava and noted the approach differences through extreme options of the transatlantic rupture of EU-USA spread by various officials and analysts. Therefore, while the constitution of the presidential commission regarding the country project and the debate regarding the energizing of the European project was announced, Washington confirmed in very specific and favorable terms, the strategic partnership with USA as well as mutual support in relevant strategic zones.   

This round of the Romanian-US strategic Dialog, after 5 years since the adoption of the Joint Declaration, highlighted the concrete prospects of development covering extremely sensitive and important areas for our country, that are assumed directly and open to the strategic American partner. Firstly, in the joint statement, is noted the basis of cooperation, respectively the commitment for democratic values - the rule of law, free market, respecting the human rights and interpersonal relations - and the importance of the ongoing efforts to promote democracy, the rule of law and good governance for preservation of an open and sustainable society, being noticed efforts and progresses of our country but also the posture, for example in law enforcement, responsible governance and fight against corruption.

However, perhaps the most important element remains the assuming of joint projects in areas of direct interest for Romania - Republic of Moldova, the Western Balkans and other areas. Besides, in the security domain, the operationalization defense system against ballistic missiles from Deveselu, and cooperation within bilateral frame and NATO to ensure the commitments implementation of the Allied Warsaw Summit, in particular the establishment of the multinational brigade led by Romania, ensuring the presence of Allied air and sea defense in the Black Sea region, supported by an enhanced program of joint and multinational exercises and training. Other areas of cooperation aimed at information warfare, counter-terrorism and cyber security.

The energy, in particular the interconnection of gas pipelines between Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Austria, but also between Romania and Moldova, as well as developing offshore reserves in the Black Sea, further investment in the long term in the exploration and production in Romania, advanced technology sectors, are creating areas of cooperation with major regional advantages for our country. The common commitment is to support TTIP -  the transatlantic partnership for investment and trade between the US and the EU. In addition the US is committed through this document to support Romania's inclusion in the Visa Waiver Program based on respect by Romania and Romanian citizens of enhancing security and employment law related American Program of visa free travel in the US.