1. Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choi Jong Kun met with outgoing Romanian Ambassador to Korea Mihai Ciompec on the morning of May 14, before his departure from Korea after 4 years and 6 months of service here.

2. Vice Minister Choi noted that the Strategic Partnership between Korea and Romania has strengthened thanks to Ambassador Ciompec’s efforts, and extended appreciation to him for his hard work.

° In particular, Vice Minister Choi appreciated that the two countries closely cooperated in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic last year as could be seen from the fact former Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha attended the virtual Annual Meeting of the Romanian Diplomacy in order to share experiences of Korea in responding to the COVID-19 crisis last year.

3. Ambassador Ciompec highlighted that Korea is Romania’s only Strategic Partner country in Asia. Recalling his experience in facilitating the official visit of the former Foreign Minister and the Speaker of the Korean National Assembly to Romania in 2017 and 2018 respectively, Ambassador Ciompec noted with special satisfaction that bilateral high-level exchanges between the two countries increased significantly over the course of his service.

4. Vice Minister Choi conveyed hope to enhance cooperation between Korea and Romania in various areas. He also asked for Ambassador Ciompec’s continual contribution to advancing Korea-Romania relations even after his departure.

° In response, Ambassador Ciompec mentioned that he will continue to strive to enhance the bilateral relationship between the two countries even after leaving Korea, on the basis of the connections he built during his service as Ambassador to Korea.