New Strategy Center and the Italian Embassy in Romania organized the event “Italy – Romania Experts Dialogue: Sharing Perspectives and Analyses of Foreign and Security Policies” on the 15th of December in Bucharest.
The event was held under the auspices of both countries’ Foreign Ministries and was opened by the Romanian Secretary of State for Strategic Affairs, Mr. Iulian Fota, and the Italian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Edmondo Cirielli. In addition, the event benefited from a series of opening remarks by the Ambassador of Italy to Romania, H.E. Alfredo M. Durante Mangoni, and Mr. George Scutaru, CEO of the New Strategy Center, both of whom emphasized the importance of establishing a strategic dialogue between Italian and Romanian experts, with the intention of making this initiative permanent so that an annual exchange of views occurs in Bucharest and Rome.
The conference brought together Romanian and Italian experts from a variety of fields to discuss the most pressing foreign and security policy issues and to gain a better understanding of the obstacles faced by the two regions.
The discussions centred on the future of NATO as well as the implementation of the new Strategic Concept and the Common Security and Defense Policy within the context of the new Strategic Compass of the EU. Participants also discussed the strategic context in the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership regions, as well as the question of EU expansion in these regions. In these regions, countermeasures against external interference and disinformation were also discussed. The strategic context in the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea region, which was also examined from the perspectives of the energy sector and food security, was another central topic of the discussions.
This conference is part of the New Strategy Center’s efforts to promote the strategic significance of the Black Sea region in the current security context and to improve our understanding of how each party perceives the security challenges we face.