AGERPRES special correspondent Oana Ghita reports: President Nicusor Dan was welcomed on Thursday with military honours at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, where he was greeted by his Polish counterpart Karol Nawrocki.

The two heads of state will hold both private and official talks, and ahead of the official lunch they will hold a joint press conference.

The delegation of President Dan is made up of presidential advisers Marius Lazurca, Vlad Ionescu, Valentin Naumescu, Diana Punga, Ramona Dinu and Diana Iancu, as well as deputy Ghervazen Longher, the representative of the Union of Poles in Romania.

President Nicusor Dan is accompanied at the ceremony by his partner, Mirabela Gradinaru, while the President of Poland is joined by his wife, Marta Nawrocka.

After the event, President Nicusor Dan will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw and meet with the Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (the equivalent of the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies), Wlodzimierz Czarzasty and the Marshal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland, Malgorzata Kidawa-Blonska.

Later in the day, the Romanian head of state will hold a meeting with Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk and will attend an event organised by the Polish-Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry on the occasion of the Romanian-Polish Solidarity Day.

'The advancement of the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the Republic of Poland, as well as improved cooperation at European and allied levels, are the defining coordinates of this visit. In this regard, the priorities on the bilateral agenda and the major projects within the Strategic Partnership will be discussed, with a focus on the development of economic exchanges and investments,' the Presidential Administration conveyed.

According to the quoted source, European security will be a main topic of the discussions, in the context of the risks generated by the Russian Federation's aggression against Ukraine and conflicts in the Middle East. Thus, the talks will focus on the collaboration between Romania and Poland for maintaining European and allied solidarity, with the primary objective of strengthening NATO's deterrence posture on the Eastern Flank. The best ways to develop bilateral cooperation in the areas of security and defence industry will be discussed, as well as multilateral cooperation within the framework of the Bucharest 9 Format, whose next meeting will take place in Bucharest in May this year.

For a close coordination between Romania and Poland, topical matters will also be addressed, such as the European Council agenda, the European Union enlargement process, the transatlantic relationship, the support for Ukraine and the situation in the Republic of Moldova, the Presidential Administration added.

President Nicusor Dan's visit to Poland takes place in the context of the Romanian-Polish Solidarity Day, celebrated on 3 March, a date marking the signing of the 'Convention of Defensive Alliance between the Kingdom of Romania and the Republic of Poland' in 1921, a symbol of the friendship and deep ties which unite the Romanian and Polish peoples, the Presidential Administration mentioned. AGERPRES (RO - editing by: Georgiana Tanasescu; EN - writing by: Rodica State)