On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I congratulate the people of Romania on your national day on December 1. As we join in commemorating Romanian unity, we also celebrate 130 years of diplomatic relations between Romania and the United States, and the strong partnership our countries enjoy. The people of Romania and the United States share a friendship built on our common values — respect for the ideals of freedom and democracy, promoting prosperity for all people, and protecting human dignity and the rule of law around the world. Our forces have served together bravely in Afghanistan, the Western Balkans, and Iraq. The United States honors the brave service and steadfast commitment of Romanian troops to our shared missions around the world, and we mourn for those who have paid the ultimate price in the service of freedom.
As allies in NATO and through other international organizations, Romania and the United States work on many of our shared global challenges, from halting nuclear proliferation and increasing energy security to combating climate change. We appreciate the key role Romania played in NATO as we worked to develop the new Strategic Concept on issues such as missile defense and internal reform of the Alliance. The United States looks forward to broadening and deepening our bilateral partnership with Romania as we continue strengthening our Euro-Atlantic ties.
I wish all Romanians a joyous national day celebration with peace and prosperity in the coming year.
PRN: 2010/1716
(C) U.S. State Department
