Romania recognises Africa's essential role

The ambassador to South Africa, Monica-Cecilia Sitaru, talks about work being done in the country

- Marion Smith

Please share some of your highlights as a diplomat and in your personal capacity since arriving in South Africa.

I was impressed by the meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa on the occasion of presenting my credentials, and the meetings I had with the South African officials at all levels. The warm way in which I was received by the South African authorities at the local/regional level and by the people in the rural area left a positive and long-lasting mark on me.

From personal experience, it is the outstanding natural beauty of South Africa; the jacaranda season in Pretoria, where the trees flourish with a deep purple colour. I have to mention the beautiful fauna and flora of South Africa, represented through the King Protea, a flower of unique beauty, a beauty as diverse and as powerfully moving as the Rainbow Nation in which it resides.

It has been impossible not to be impressed by South Africa's strong sense of unity, when it comes to rugby, a sport which is celebrated with a pride hard to fully transmit in mere simple words.

Please provide some background on the relationship between Romania and South Africa.

Official relations were established in 1990 at the consular level and then upgraded to diplomatic level in 1991.

Since the opening of the first Romanian mission in South Africa, there have been many achievements at the diplomatic level, visits at all levels, including at the level of the president and prime minister, very good cooperation in various fields, but also extremely valuable people-to-people programmes, including at the sportive and educational level, cultural, but also in medicine, which created a beautiful bond between the citizens of the two states, between young people, between athletes, between inspirational cultures.