Romania | Unity Day

Embassy Network | 4th April 2017

Ambassador Mihalache gives his Unity Day address. Inset: The Romanian Unity Day feast

The Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps Mr Alistair Harrison congratulates Ambassador Mihalache

The High Commissioner for Cyprus Mr Euripides Evriviades, the Ambassador of Georgia Mrs Tamar Beruchashvili, the Ambassador of Kuwait and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps Mr Khaled Al Duwaisan and the UAE Ambassador Mr Sulaiman Almazroui

Heads of Mission from Spain, Cyprus, Cote d’Ivoire, Austria, Kuwait and the UAE crowd around Ambassador Mihalache to congratulate him

Heads of Mission from Cyprus, Bulgaria and Spain with Ambassador Mihalache

Guests showing their appreciation

Ambassador Mihalache and Deputy Ambassador Cosmin Onisii welcome the Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP

Croatian Ambassador Dr Ivan Grdešić congratulates Ambassador Mihalache

Ambassador Mihalache welcomes the Slovak Ambassador Dr L’ubomír Rehák

Ambassador Mihalache greets the Ambassador of Macedonia Prof Jovan Donev

Graham Perolis OBE (Hospices of Hope), the Ambassador of Bosnia Herzegovina Mr Branko Neskovic and Serbian Deputy Ambassador Nebojsa Radojicic

Polish Ambassador Prof Arkady Rzegocki and the Ambassador of Ukraine Ms Natalia Galibarenko

Romanian unity

Speaking at his first Unity Day celebration in London, recently arrived Romanian Ambassador Dan Mihalache said he felt “quite emotional”.

Reflecting on the upcoming Centenary of the modern state of Romania in 2018, he said his country’s history was “complicated” but that he and his countrymen should “never forget” the painful social memory of holocaust, tyranny and totalitarianism in order to value the precious freedoms Romanians now enjoy.

He added that no Romanian wanted to return to the dark days of travel bans. “All of us must fight to preserve what freedom is, freedom of movement, to choose a workplace.”

He added that Romania and Britain had good cooperation in many areas “and we want this excellent relationship to continue with or without Brexit”.

PHOTOS: PIERRE DE VILLIERS