BUCHAREST 

Turkey vowed Monday to strengthen ties with Romania in various sectors.

“We want to move our relations with Romania to an advanced level in the fields of environment and urbanization,” Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum said after meeting with his Romanian counterpart in Bucharest.

Kurum attended the European Union’s informal meeting of environment ministers Monday in Bucharest which was chaired by Romanian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Environment Gratiela Leocadia Gavrilescu.

He met with environment ministers of EU member and candidate countries, including his Romanian counterpart.

“Romania is a valuable neighbor, an ally and a strategic partner. There are strong political, economic, cultural and human ties between Turkey and Romania which have their origins in history,” Kurum said following his meeting with Gavrilescu.

“We are ready to strengthen our strategic partnership based on security and economic cooperation.

“We aim to create cities and settlements with a high quality of life that are compatible with the sustainable environment and the vision of smart cities,” he added.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz