After the end of the war, Romania must and has the capacity to play an important role in the reconstruction process in Ukraine, the Internal Affairs Minister Catalin Predoiu said during a working meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, Ihor Klymenko, inform agerpres.ro.
This will have to be achieved through investments and the organization of logistical support centers near the borders for the reconstruction operations in Ukraine, the position of our country being strategically advantageous from this point of view, Predoiu said, according to the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI).
"The working visit of a Ukrainian Interior Minister, the first to Romania in more than 20 years, took place one year after another milestone in the bilateral relations between Romania and Ukraine, namely the first joint meeting of the two governments," the cited source shows.
The talks were aimed at strengthening cooperation in key areas of mutual interest such as combating trafficking in human beings, drugs and arms, illegal migration, police cooperation, exchange of information and experience to increase the level of general public safety in the context of the war in Ukraine, intervention in emergency situations, movement of persons and means of transportation across the border.
Minister Klymenko thanked Romania for its substantial support from the very first day of the war and praised the efforts of the MAI to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to the millions of Ukrainians who crossed the border to seek refuge from the war.
At the end of discussions in the delegations' plenary, the two ministers signed the important Agreement on cooperation in the field of prevention, limitation and mitigation of the effects of emergency situations. This document creates the necessary bilateral legal framework for Romania and Ukraine to provide mutual assistance, upon request, in case of imminent/occurrence of an emergency situation, the MAI specifies.
The agreement will further support the Ukrainian authorities as it will allow the dispatch to Ukraine, at its request, of aid teams, the necessary equipment, as well as the carrying out of all types of response actions, the transfer of expertise, search and rescue operations, aimed at saving human lives, protecting public health, limiting material damage and cultural values.
"As far as the Ukrainian refugees remaining on the national territory are concerned, the Romanian Government will have to develop a comprehensive long-term policy, going beyond the important aid (financial, logistic, institutional) granted during the war, taking into account that the long-term residence and social and economic integration into Romanian society will strengthen the Ukrainian minority in Romania and will require coherent cultural integration measures," Predoiu said.