On October 18th, 2024, at the MIA headquarters, the working meeting took place between Cătălin Predoiu, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Internal Affairs, and his Ukrainian counterpart, Ihor Klymenko.
The working visit of a Minister of Internal Affairs from Ukraine, the first in Romania after more than 20 years, took place on the anniversary of another landmark moment in the bilateral relationship between Romania and Ukraine, namely the first joint meeting of the two Governments.
The discussions are part of the political direction opened by the Declaration of 10.10.2023 signed by Presidents Iohannis and Zelenski regarding the progress of relations between the two countries towards a strategic partnership and are a natural continuation of the issues established by the Joint Declaration of the Prime Ministers of Romania and Ukraine of 18 October 2024 and through the Security Cooperation Agreement, (Washington, July 10th, 2024) and aimed to strengthen collaboration in key areas of mutual interest such as combating human, drug and arms trafficking, illegal migration, police cooperation, information exchange and experience for increasing the level of general public safety in the context of the war in Ukraine, intervention in emergency situations, movement of people and means of transport across the border.
At the beginning of the discussions, Minister Klymenko thanked Romania for the substantial support given since the first day of the war and appreciated the efforts of the Ministry of Interior to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to the millions of Ukrainians who crossed the border to take refuge from it.
The dignitaries reviewed the current state of bilateral relations in the field of internal affairs, with an emphasis on border cooperation, police cooperation, and emergency situations, the fight against human trafficking, drugs and weapons and organized crime, the importance of strengthening cooperation through projects being acknowledged and joint actions targeted at risk areas.
The Deputy Prime Minister, the Romanian Minister of Internal Affairs highlighted that preventing and combating cross-border organized crime is a priority of the MIA. The increased risks posed by migrant smuggling, human trafficking, illicit firearms trafficking, drug trafficking, terrorism and other serious crimes require close coordination and operational cooperation. The discussion partner gave assurances that these aspects are also under the attention of the Ukrainian Ministry of Interior.
Next, Minister Predoiu briefly presented the steps taken by Romania to increase connectivity and facilitate transit at the common Romania-Ukraine border, with the provision of appropriate security measures. They make a significant contribution to ensuring the economic resilience of the Ukrainian state and reduce the effects of war on global food security.
The consistent dialogue, at all levels, between the structures of the two Ministries, as well as the prospects for its intensification in the next period, were also highlighted. An example in this sense is represented by the consolidation of the bilateral legal framework for cooperation by signing, on the occasion of the visit, the Agreement between the Government of Romania and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine regarding cooperation in the field of prevention, limitation and removal of the effects of emergency situations.
The two ministers also discussed the structural aid provided by Romania to Ukrainian refugees, in the context in which, since the beginning of the war, over 10 million Ukrainian citizens have transited through our country without incident, of which over 82 thousand remained on Romanian territory, 146 requested asylum and over 100 thousand requested various forms of international protection, formalities executed by the MIA institutions successfully and without incident.
During the meeting, the Romanian minister highlighted the fact that in the future, after the end of the war, Romania must and has the ability to play an important role in the reconstruction process of Ukraine, through investments and the organization of logistical support centers near the borders for reconstruction operations from Ukraine, the position of our country being strategically advantageous from this point of view.
At the end of the discussions in the plenary of the delegations, the two ministers signed the important Agreement on cooperation in the field of prevention, limitation and elimination of the effects of emergency situations. Through this document, the necessary bilateral legal framework was created for Romania and Ukraine to provide each other with mutual assistance, upon request, in the event of the imminence/occurrence of an emergency situation. The agreement further supports the Ukrainian authorities as it will allow the sending to Ukraine, at its request, of aid teams, the necessary equipment, as well as the carrying out of any type of response actions, the transfer of expertise, the carrying out of operations search and rescue, which aim to save human lives, protect public health, limit material damage and cultural values.
At the end of the meeting, the two ministers had a tête-à-tête meeting of about 15 minutes, in which they discussed aspects that belong to the competence of the two ministries.
The working meeting ended with an official lunch offered by the Romanian minister, the Romanian ministerial delegation being composed of Beatrice Drăghiciu, state adviser in the government office of the deputy Prime Minister, Bogdan Despescu, Raed Arafat, Cătălin Necula, state secretaries in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Nușa Coman, general director in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
After the working meeting, Minister Predoiu declared:
„Today’s working meeting was extremely substantial, the MIA being represented by a strong delegation, considering the present and future importance of cooperation with Ukraine in areas of competence of the MIA.
We will increase attention and intensify cooperation in combating organized crime, human and drug trafficking, as well as taking early measures to combat arms trafficking, which, although currently not causing problems at the Ukraine-Romania border, could become a subject of attention after the war is over, and we must be prepared in advance, in order to counter effectively.
The strategic key for combating these challenges remains the annihilation of organized crime groups, they are the ones who perpetrate the most serious challenges to the overall public safety.
I understand the concern of the Ukrainian side to combat the phenomenon of the abduction of some Ukrainian citizens, through the fraudulent crossing of the border with Romania, from the application of special laws in force in Ukraine and we will continue to provide support, within and on the basis of Romanian and European legislation. We are also ready to support our Ukrainian colleagues, as well as those from the Republic of Moldova, in the dialogue with the European Commission for the improvement and personalization of the European framework on readmission in relation to the realities caused by the war of total aggression in Ukraine.
Regarding the Ukrainian refugees remaining on the national territory, in the future, the Government of Romania will have to develop a long-term policy with a comprehensive character, which goes beyond the important aid (financial, logistical, institutional) granted during the war period, having considering that long-term residence and social and economic integration in Romanian society will strengthen the Ukrainian minority in Romania and will require coherent measures of cultural integration.
An interesting aspect of the discussions was the issue of the legal regime of the possession and use of drones after the end of the war, an aspect on which we will focus our attention in the future.
I conclude in the sense that the working meeting was extremely useful for both parties and we laid the principled foundations of a cooperation structured on multiple areas of competence of the two important ministries.”
