H.E. Nicolae Goia, Ambassador of Romania to Pakistan.

On 14th of August 2022, Pakistanis celebrate 75th anniversary of Independence Day with much zeal, fervor and enthusiasm. 75 years ago, Pakistan emerged as a Sovereign state after the de departure of the British from the former Subcontinent region. While discussing the significance of Pakistan's Independence Day, it should be remem bered that this day is about the sacrifices and concerns of the countries' elders for freedom and constitutional struggle, minority rights and socio-economic rights. Even if at the time of indepen dence, the governance system of the British vas adopted, over the time numerous changes have been made to make the system more responsive to the needs of the people. Today, Pakistan is a modern democratic parliamentary feder al republic, wish Islam the state religion. On this auspicious occasion, on behalf of the Romanian people and the Romanian Government I would like to congratulate the entire Pakistani nation and to wish everyone a happy and peaceful anniver sary of the Independence Day. Pakistan represents a very important partner for Romania in the South Asian region and we acknowledge Pakistan's efforts in fighting terrorism, militancy and radical extremism as an important compo nent of international war and terror. The bilateral relations between Romania and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan are characterized by a robust friendship, mutual interest and collaboration.

In recent year, the relations witnessed new dynamics, with a result-oriented driven political dialogue and positive develop ments in the economic/commercial, educational and cultural fields. In the economic realm, we praise the recent dynamics of bilateral economic cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, which has significantly diver sified, in fields such as shipbuilding, aeronautics and transports. Over the last years bilateral trade balance was positive for Romania with a steady increase in percentage terms, a bilateral format that we share interest to further enhance and diversify. At a cultural level, Romania benefits of a good reputation and experiences a fruitful relation with I.R. Pakistan. To give one example, in Islamabad, there is a monument dedicated to the national poets Mihai Eminescu and Allama Iqbal. The six-meter-long marble, bronze and granite monument, located in Blue Area on one of the capital's most important boulevards in Islamabad, features Pakistani...