President Iohannis's efforts in support of rule of law, anti-corruption fight earn Finland's recognition

Finland appreciates the efforts of the President of Romania in support of the rule of law and of the anti-corruption fight, Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini said on Wednesday as he met with President Klaus Iohannis at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace, the Presidential Administration informed in a release.

President Iohannis highlighted the upward trend of Romania - Finland political and economic bilateral relations, voicing also his conviction that the high-level dialogue will intensify, the more so as the two countries will consecutively hold the Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2019, which requires tight coordination. In his turn, the Finnish official commended the stage of bilateral relations and agreed that more action is needed, particularly on economic ground.

As regards sectoral cooperation, Iohannis emphasized Romania's interest in using education expertise patterned after the Finnish model based on innovation and research; the Finnish Foreign Minister expressed appreciation for the Romanian President's personal commitment in this area, including by the promotion of the "Educated Romania" program.

The two officials had a deep-going exchange of opinions on the importance of education in the development of the societies of EU states, as well as in the combat of the sources of the migration phenomenon that affects Europe.

Iohannis and Soini also discussed preparations for this July's NATO Summit in Brussels, with President Iohannis presenting Romania's priorities for the summit, with emphasis on continuing the adjustment of the Alliance to the regional security environment resulted after the illegal occupation of Crimea, on ensuring cohesion along the Eastern Flank and the new NATO command structure. The sides swapped opinions on the security situation in the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea region, and also discussed subjects of common interest such as increasing military mobility and the participation of the two states in the Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan.

Other subjects approached during the meeting were the European track of the Republic of Moldova, in the light of the visit the Finnish Foreign Minister will be paying to Chisinau in continuation of the Bucharest visit, and developments and perspectives of the Iranian and North-Korean nuclear files.