New Egyptian parliament to contribute to political stability

The new Egyptian parliament will contribute to political stability and democratic process, said Romanian Ambassador to Egypt Cornel Alecse.

The Egyptian parliamentary election is considered a crucial step toward democracy and the necessary institutional reforms, he added in an exclusive interview with MENA on the occasion of the Romanian National Day, which falls on Monday.

Romania stands fully ready to continue cooperation in elections, in light of its experiment which was not easy at all, he said, adding that Bucharest through the permanent elections authority implemented a project in this respect with Egypt.

Romania is keen on enhance joint cooperation with Egypt in the various fields, he said, adding that the Romanian Embassy will exert utmost efforts to promote cooperation with Egypt.

Talking about tourism in Egypt, the ambassador said that Romania did not issue travel warning for Sharm el Sheikh and it was among the countries that did not raise travel alert to Egypt after the Russian plane accident.

The Egyptian authorities will take the necessary measures to confront any security problems, he said, adding that tourism is considered a main source of income in Egypt.

Thousands of Romanian tourists visit annually the Egyptian resorts and historical sites in Egypt, he said.

Regarding economic and trade ties with Egypt, the ambassador said that Egypt has become the most important strategic partner for Romania in the region.

The volume of trade exchange between Egypt and Romania reached 900 million dollars in 2014, with an estimated increase by about 31 percent if compared to the previous year, noted the ambassador.

He further voiced hope that the trade exchange between the two countries will surpass one billion dollars this year.

The Romanian companies are keen on holding cooperation with Egypt in the spheres of technology, maintenance of refineries, electricity distribution, railways along with biotechnology and others, he said.

The ambassador further said that Egypt adopted several reforms and procedures in the past two years, adding that the country is moving on the right path in this respect.

Turning to the Syrian crisis, the ambassador said that Romania supports any initiative that aims to find a political solution to this crisis, especially the initiative launched by UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura.

Bucharest is ready to take part in any negotiations that could pave a way to end conflict and attain peace, he went on to say.

He voiced hope that the positive steps which were taken in Vienna summit will contribute positively in the process of peaceful transition in Syria.

Romania is ready to take part in reconstruction efforts, which will be the next step in confronting the daunting challenges which are facing the Syrian people, he affirmed.

Responding to a question about the refugee crisis in Europe, the ambassador said that his country is very concerned from the current refugee crisis, which is considered the biggest since the second World War.

Romania is not a favorite destination for the refugees but the country is ready to contribute as much as possible at this time in order to solve this problem, he concluded.

Sources: MENA