BUCKAREST – Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is paying his first official visit to Romania on Wednesday.

The Greek premier’s visit to Bucharest marks the strengthening of the Greek economic and business presence in the region and of economic openness, as well as the expansion of bilateral cooperation in a number of areas, such as that of civil protection, for which a separate agreement will be signed.

This is one of the most important areas for Greek economic and business activity and Mitsotakis and his Romanian counterpart Nicolae-Ionel Ciucă will sign a Joint Declaration to promote economic and political cooperation, confirming their desire to strengthen Greek-Romanian relations.

The prime minister will also meet in Bucharest with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.

In addition to issues linked to expanding cooperation in the fields of the economy, energy, transport and tourism, his meetings will also focus on the latest worrying developments in Ukraine, the situation in the Western Balkans, the escalation of Turkish provocation in the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as other issues of European interest.

The prime minister’s programme is as follows:

At 12:00 noon, the Greek premier will meet with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis at Cotroceni palace in Bucharest.

At 13:00 at the Greek Embassy, Mitsotakis will meet with the Board of Directors of the Bilateral Greek-Romanian Chamber of Commerce, and with Greek business people and sponsors of cultural activities.

At 13:40 he will meet with Prime Minister of Romania, Nicolae-Ionel Ciucă, at Victoria palace in Bucharest. The two leaders will also sign a joint declaration, followed by statements to the press.

Finally, Mitsotakis will attend an official dinner hosted by the Romanian prime minister at 19:00.