WATCH: Netanyahu, Romanian FM meet, mark decades of bilateral bonds
"This has been a long, beautiful friendship," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejoiced while welcoming the Romanian FM to Israel.
By JPOST.COM STAFFPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Romnian Minister of Foreign Affairs Teodor Meleşcanu, October 24, 2017. (GPO)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu, who arrived in Israel on Monday, an especially warm greeting ahead of the pair's meeting which took place Tuesday morning.Minutes before the two entered into a lengthy discussion about extending Israel and Romania's collaboration in fields such as agriculture, technology, entrepreneurship and cyber, they turned to the cameras to celebrate years of close cooperation.The Israeli premier turned to Melescanu, warmly shaking his hand, and said: "It's a pleasure to see you and this has been a long, beautiful friendship. It's a pleasure to see you and it's a mark of our friendship, a long and fruitful friendship of Romania and Israel.""I would say a natural partnership," the Romanian foreign minister agreed, and Netanyahu replied: "Great, natural sympathy."Melescanu landed in the Jewish state on Monday and had a meeting with President Reuven Rivlin. He also paid a visit to Jerusalem's Holocaust museum Yad Vashem.While there he noted that Romania was making efforts to battle antisemitism, warning that the world has been plagued by an uptick in xenophobia, racism and antisemitism and that such bias could evolve into a tragedy similar to that of World War II. He also said that he was aware that the Jewish community in Romania has been dwindling in recent years, and that a major task in Romania is to preserve Jewish heritage.Greer Fay Cashman contributed to this report.