Ukraine and Romania Resume Dialogue on the Rights of National Minorities
After a hiatus of nearly eight years, Ukraine and Romania will once again convene the Joint Commission on the Rights of National Minorities. The meeting will take place on August 28, and one of the main topics will be education in native languages.
Ukraine and Romania are resuming the work of their joint commission, which addresses issues related to the rights of people belonging to national minorities. The meeting of the Ukrainian-Romanian Joint Commission will take place on Friday, August 28. This will be the first such meeting after a hiatus of nearly eight years. Romanian President Nicușor Dan made this announcement following a trilateral meeting with the presidents of Ukraine and Moldova, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Maia Sandu, in Chișinău.
Dan noted that the resumption of the commission’s work is part of the further development of relations between the two countries. This year, Ukraine and Romania signed a Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership. “I am very pleased that the process is moving forward. For example, tomorrow, August 28, after many, many years, another meeting of our Joint Commission on the Rights of National Minorities in both countries will take place, during which we will discuss important issues,” Dan said.
According to him, one of the main topics of the talks will be education in the national languages. “The most important issue, of course, is education—education in the national languages of both countries,” emphasized the President of Romania.
The issue of education is important for both countries, as a Romanian national minority lives in Ukraine and a Ukrainian national minority lives in Romania. The Joint Commission is set to discuss ensuring the rights of representatives of national minorities and the practical aspects of their access to education in their native languages.
The commission’s resumption of work comes amid a revitalization of Ukrainian-Romanian relations. Kyiv and Bucharest have recently been deepening their cooperation in the political, security, and other spheres.
Turkey has deployed two F-16 fighter jets to participate in NATO’s integrated air and missile defense operations in Romanian airspace. Along with the fighter jets, an early warning radar aircraft and a refueling aircraft have been assigned to the mission.
