Speech by Prime Minister Nicolae-Ionel Ciucă at the Independence Day reception hosted by the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest

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Good evening!
Mr. Chargé d'Affaires Muniz,
President of the Senate, Alina Gorghiu,
President of the Chamber of Deputies, Marcel Ciolacu,
Ministers,
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear friends,

It is a pleasure to have this opportunity to address you as we celebrate the 246th anniversary of the United States of America's Independence Day. I would like to start by extending my congratulations to you, Mr. Muniz, to your country, and to all Americans on this occasion.
We mark today 246 years since the birth of a nation that has, in time, inspired many others to follow its path towards self-determination and the promotion and protection of democracy and human rights.
Today, not far from our borders, we are witnessing the struggle of the Ukrainian people for their own freedom and for their foreign policy and security choices. We all hoped that wars in Europe were a thing of the past; that we have reached a stage where we are able to resolve our misunderstandings in an exclusively peaceful way in the multinational and global forums created for this purpose. But Russia's unprovoked, illegal and unjustified aggression against Ukraine is once again trying to replace the rule of law with the law of force. The best way to respond to such a challenge is to act together, united, as a single Euro-Atlantic community of values and ideals. Romania is and will remain a strong supporter of transatlantic unity.
The year 2022 marks 25 years since the launch of the Strategic Partnership which paved the way for the deepening of cooperation between Romania and the United States. This Partnership played an important role in Romania's accession to NATO in 2004. The United States remains our closest military ally, just as NATO remains the main guarantor of peace and security for all its members.

I welcome, on this special occasion, the US decision to supplement the presence of American troops in Romania with another 5,000 soldiers, concrete proof, offered at the right time, regarding the solidity of the guarantees that Romania benefits from within our Strategic Partnership.
Another important pillar of our partnership is economic cooperation. Last year, bilateral trade reached a new all-time high. Companies such as Bitdefender and UiPath, both founded in Romania, have already made their mark in the US and are examples of Romania's potential and know-how. We hope that other Romanian companies will soon follow their example.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The Romanian Government is deeply aware that the development of trade relations and the increase of investments depend on a clear and predictable legal framework. We provide the necessary conditions for entrepreneurs to invest in our country.
The fact that in June the Council of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development approved Romania's Accession Roadmap is, in my opinion, a recognition of the progress already made in this regard. We are grateful to the USA for its constant support and we are confident that the process of joining the OECD will be accelerated in accordance with Romania's level of readiness to become a full member of the organization which through its members offers 90 percent of foreign investment globally.
As part of the commitment of our country and the United States to cooperate to strengthen transatlantic strategic resilience, the Romanian Government will continue to implement the most important joint projects in the energy field. This will not only allow Romania to achieve energy independence - an aspect that has become even more important given the current geopolitical context - but will also give us the opportunity to contribute to regional energy security. The project of the two new reactors to be built at Cernavodă offers significant opportunities for the integration of European and North American supply chains.
A second important project implemented in partnership with the USA refers to the plant with small modular reactors (SMR) to be installed in Doicești, near Târgoviște. Romania's decision to participate in this project will open the regional market for SMR and, with US support, will strengthen energy security at regional and European level.
I welcome, once again, the decision announced by the USA on June 27 regarding the energy cooperation between Romania and the United States of America, by offering 14 million dollars for a new stage of the modular reactor program in Romania.
In addition to these two emblematic projects, Romania and the USA have intensified their cooperation in other fields related to renewable energy. Cooperation on this line will make an important contribution to Romania's efforts to implement its commitments in the field of combating climate change.
Last but not least, I am confident that increased mobility between Romania and the US will vastly contribute to facilitating people to people relations, with clear benefits for our trade and business partnerships. The Romanian Government will continue to work together with their US counterparts in order to make accession to the Visa Waiver Program a reality as soon as possible, in a joint objective of both Romania and US.
To conclude, it is my hope that the progress we have made so far in our cooperation will multiply in the years to come, and that the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the United States will continue to bring a significant positive contribution at bilateral, regional and transatlantic level.
Happy 4th of July! Happy Independence Day!