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Government of Romania

03/16/2023 | News release | Distributed by Public on 03/17/2023 06:11

Prime Minister Nicolae-Ionel Ciucă attended the International Conference 'Francophonie of the Future: Education(...)

Speech by Prime Minister Nicolae-Ionel Ciucă at the International Conference "Francophonie of the Future: Education for Sustainable Development" organized by the Foreign Affairs Ministry, under the high patronage of President Klaus Iohannis

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Your Excellency, President of Romania,

Secretary General of La Francophonie(OIF),

Dear members of Parliament, and Cabinet,

Dear members, and ministers of the La Francophonie,

Your Excellencies, Members of the Diplomatic Corps,

Dear guests,

I am honored to attend this event devoted to the Francophonie and education.

Romania's 30th full membership anniversary is a good opportunity to discuss the future. The decision to focus on education is justified by its decisive role for the young population, such as that of the francophone space. These young people are interested in having a job, education, and a healthy environment, as acknowledged in the Strategic Framework of the Francophonie for 2023 -2030.

Whether we are talking about basic education, or continuous, lifetime education, the quality of the information received, the infrastructure, and the relationship of the educational process with social and economic reality are very important aspects of sustainable development. They are very relevant aspects of how we shape the future through knowledge, research, science, and civic participation.

For a child, school is their first structured interaction with society, this impacts their behavior, communication, and attitude.

For an adult, continuous education will help him adapt to a labor market and an economy in accelerated transformation.

Education also plays a primary role in the development of open, democratic societies, because a citizen who has solid critical thinking is a citizen who withstands manipulation and disinformation.

Through education, we can facilitate the balance necessary for sustainable development, based on harmony between economic and social development and environmental protection. In this logic, the Government of Romania is preparing the package of education laws and approved, at the beginning of this year, the 2023 - 2030 National Strategy on Education for Environment and Climate Change. Thus, for the first time, Romania adopted a national strategy that sets out clear actions to increase the degree of education and awareness, among children and young people, regarding sustainable development and environmental responsibility.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The sustainable development of our societies is intrinsically linked to peace, stability, and the rule of law at national and international levels. That is why I want to welcome the role of the International Organization of La Francophonie in supporting the most vulnerable categories of the population, especially in the international context marked by multiple crises, including the war of aggression launched by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, the increased instability in the Sahel, climate challenges or the hybrid ones.

Romania condemned in the strongest terms the illegal, unprovoked, and unjustified military aggression of Russia against Ukraine, the flagrant violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, which exposes other states in the region, such as the Republic of Moldova and Georgia, to major economic, security and political risks.

Russia's war against Ukraine has triggered an extremely serious humanitarian and food crisis, jeopardizing the export of Ukrainian grain to destination countries around the world, especially the Middle East and Africa, already affected by food insecurity.

Romania has acted and continues to take measures to facilitate the transit of millions of tons of grain and other products from Ukraine, as part of our effort to support the neighboring state and contribute to global food security efforts.

At the same time, we continue to support our partners in the Sahel, in a spirit of mutual responsibility, to help them ensure their own security and enforce the necessary conditions to eliminate terrorist activities and violence. We are concerned and worried about the activities and abuses committed in the region by the Wagner Group, in parallel with Moscow's disinformation campaign.

The phenomenon of disinformation is one of the tactics of the hybrid war waged by Russia, which aims not only at regional destabilization but also at global manipulation. We notice that many states are targets and victims of disinformation. This is a common challenge and responsibility, which requires the mobilization of us all. The International Organization of La Francophonie(OIF), which represents the voice of 88 states and governments, is an excellent framework for joint action in the face of this challenge that concerns us all. It is therefore necessary to develop an action plan against disinformation in the French-speaking area.

We must continue to invest in education and it is, therefore, necessary for Francophonie to go even further in fully mobilizing women and young people in terms of preventing and reducing violence against women, promoting girls' education, the participation of women and young people in decision-making processes or even access to jobs for these vulnerable groups.

Therefore, we have multiple challenges to manage, in the francophone area and nationwide, but education is an indisputable vector for enhancing efforts to attain the sustainable development goals on the horizon of 2030. Thank you!