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I am pleased to welcome His Excellency Mr. Marcel Ciolacu, Prime Minister of the friendly country of Romania, to Doha.

Today during our meeting we had an  opportunity to discuss the distinguished bilateral relations between the two friendly countries and ways to develop them in all fields in order to serve the interests of the people of the two countries.

This visit also comes within the framework of the continuous  coordination between us  and Romania on various regional issues in these important circumstances that  the region and the world are going through.

Qatari-Romanian relations have witnessed remarkable  developments at all levels since the establishment of relations in 1990. These ties have  witnessed development in the economic, trade, and investment fields in addition to coordination in various fields including in  energy, agriculture, tourism, and information technology.

There have also been continuous exchanges and political consultations over the past years. This relationship has been characterized by mutual trust and keenness to exchange views on various issues, both in the Middle East and Europe.

In recent years, a number of agreements have been signed between the two countries in several fields including in youth and sports, economic cooperation, health and medical cooperation, culture, trade, industry, and education.

Today we  also signed a food memorandum for livestock and food security.

Our  meeting today is a reflection of the aspirations of the two countries to strengthen  and develop the relationship and raise it to different  heights. We had an opportunity to discuss the regional conditions and developments that the Middle East is going through. It is no secret that the region is undergoing critical conditions at this stage and we have witnessed a different type of escalation in the past days. We call on all parties to de-escalate and avoid the region sliding into a new cycle of conflict. We also  had the opportunity to discuss the war on Gaza and mediation efforts to release the hostages in Gaza.

I briefed His Excellency the Prime Minister on the latest developments of these negotiations. The negotiations and the situation in the region are at a sensitive stage. The State of Qatar's position has been clear since the beginning of these events on October 7. We clearly condemn the targeting and killing of civilians, regardless of their backgrounds. On the other hand, it is not right to continue the policy of collective punishment pursued by Israel towards the Palestinian people in Gaza and the continuous escalation in the West Bank which we see  increasing every day and its danger to the situation in the region. Since the beginning of this war, we have warned of the expansion of the cycle of conflict and today we see conflicts on different fronts and their direct relationship to the escalation and war on Gaza.

We constantly call on the international community to shoulder its responsibilities and to stop this war and the continuous  targeting of the Palestinian people in Gaza. We urge the international community to stop the continuation of killing in this way, the policy of siege and starvation, and the use of humanitarian aid as a tool for political blackmail.

With regard to the negotiations, I updated His Excellency on the latest developments in these negotiations. Unfortunately, the negotiations are going through a sensitive stage between moving forward and stumbling. We are trying as much as possible to address this stumbling and move forward, put an end to the suffering of the people in Gaza, in addition to bringing the hostages back to their families.

Indeed, it is very clear that the war on Gaza today and the discrepancies that we see in international attitudes and positions, that there is no doubt that when we look at them carefully, we consider that unfortunately  some countries use double standards in assessing conflicts. We clearly demand from the international community that standards be uniform and applied  to everyone, and not be classified on the basis of who is the aggressor and who is the victim.

Today, this issue has also been an important factor in the Palestinian cause and  cannot be ignored. We believe that there will be no lasting solution or lasting and sustainable peace without the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital on the borders of June 4, 1967, in accordance with the resolutions of international legitimacy and the Arab Peace Initiative.

This position has always been clearly adopted by the State of Qatar. As we have mentioned on several occasions, we are advocates of peace, not advocates of war. We demand that there should also be similar positions on the Israeli side that are compatible with ours, so that there will finally be a solution in which the Palestinian people will be safe.

Thank you, Your Excellency. Thank you for your visit in these circumstances and for the positions you expressed at this meeting. We assure you of the State of Qatar’s commitment to developing the relationship  between our two countries and continuing consultations between us.