South-East Europe means over 150 million people and a cumulative economy of over 1,200 billion euros, the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Oana Toiu, highlighted on July 28 during a meeting with the Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Amer Kapetanovic.

At the invitation of Oana Toiu, Amer Kapetanovic paid a visit to Bucharest and the discussions took place in the context of Romania taking over the Presidency-in-Office of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP), a moment that marks the beginning of a new stage of regional cooperation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) announced.

SEECP brings together 13 capitals from the region in a community of over 150 million citizens.

According to the cited source, during the meeting, Oana Toiu presented Romania’s vision for a safer, more resilient, more connected and more prosperous region, based on European cooperation and integration. At the same time, she presented the priorities and indicative calendar of the Romanian Presidency of the SEECP, carried out under the motto “Resilient. Connected. European”.

“South-Eastern Europe means over 150 million people and a cumulative economy of over 1,200 billion euros. The potential is huge, but it becomes reality only through connectivity and sustained dialogue and this is what Romania is doing during its presidency. When the region grows together, the voice of each of us weighs more, in Brussels and in the world,” Toiu declared, according to the MAE.

The acting minister stressed that Romania’s mandate will focus on three priority areas: supporting the European Union enlargement process and deepening regional political dialogue so that the region’s voice is better heard and understood, including in Brussels; strengthening regional security and resilience, including by combating hybrid and cyber threats and strengthening cooperation in the field of civil protection; promoting economic and social development, by stimulating connectivity, implementing the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans and capitalizing on the SEE 2030 Strategy.

Oana Toiu also highlighted the objective of promoting projects with a direct impact on citizens throughout the region.

The dialogue with the Secretary General of the RCC aimed at identifying joint initiatives that can be developed during Romania’s mandate, as well as the role of the Regional Cooperation Council in supporting the implementation of the priorities of the Romanian Presidency.

Minister Oana Toiu and Secretary General Amer Kapetanovic issued joint press statements, reaffirming the commitment to pragmatic regional cooperation, oriented towards results and for the benefit of the citizens of South-Eastern Europe.

The discussions continued with the meeting of the Secretary of State for European Affairs, the Middle East and Africa, Clara Staicu, with Secretary General Kapetanovic and his team.

The visit program ended with a high-level roundtable, with the participation of Romanian institutions involved in the implementation of the Romanian SEECP Presidency program, where cooperation projects in areas such as connectivity, sustainable development, combating disinformation, strengthening resilience and regional economic integration were analyzed.

During these discussions, a series of sectoral cooperation projects were identified.

The Romanian SEECP Presidency will end with the Summit of heads of state and Government from the region, hosted by Romania in Bucharest, in 2027.