Vice President Biden met today with the Prime Minister of Romania, Victor Ponta.  The Vice President reaffirmed the enduring U.S. commitment to a strategic partnership with Romania and thanked the Prime Minister for Romania’s steadfast support on a range of regional challenges, including in Afghanistan and its hosting of a missile defense base in Deveselu in support of key NATO capabilities.  Both contributions demonstrate Romania’s unwavering dedication as a bilateral partner and NATO ally to strengthening regional and international security.  The two leaders also agreed on the importance of expanding trade and investment between our two countries, and welcomed support for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations, which has the potential to generate significant increases in the already substantial number of jobs supported by U.S.-EU trade and investment.  The Vice President underscored that Romania’s success as a democratic partner with strong rule of law is vital to nourishing a healthy business climate and remains profoundly in our shared interest.