The Special Co-ordinator Bodo Hombach will visit Romania on September 25 & 26 in order to prepare the upcoming Regional Conference on Assistance and Reforms to be held in Bucharest on 25 & 26 of October. Bodo Hombach will meet Romanian President Ion Iliescu, Prime Minister Adrian Nastase as well as Romanian Foreign Minister and OSCE Chairman in Office, Mircea Geoana.

The Regional Conference has been designed to demonstrate the continued support of the International Community to the reform process in South Eastern Europe. It is not a traditional donors' conference, but it will offer the opportunity for international institutions and other Stability Pact members to outline their plans to work with the region. The Conference, which is jointly organised by the Romanian Government as host, the European Commission / World Bank Joint Office and the Stability Pact, will focus on following topics:

• present and assess further projects of all 3 Stability Pact Working Tables, which have found full financing;

• to explore ways to associate crucial private investment more closely to the Stability Pact endeavour;

• to promote the further intensification of co-operation within the region;

• to assure continued and well integrated role of Stability Pact as part of larger integration efforts of the countries of the region into Euro-Atlantic structures.

A press conference with the Stability Pact Co-ordinator and Romanian Foreign Minister Geoana has been set for today, Tuesday 25 September, at 16:45 h at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Gafencu Hall.

Media are kindly invited to attend.