Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – On, 7 August 2023 Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Romania to the Republic of Uzbekistan, Mr. Daniel Cristian Ciobanu, made a free flight in a hot air balloon in Uzbekistan on the Samsarak-Parkent route, lasting 60 minutes with an ascent to a height of 900 meters.

The flight of the Ambassador of Romania to the Republic of Uzbekistan in a hot air balloon is an important event of public diplomacy as part of the celebration of the 161st anniversary of Romanian diplomacy (on 27 July 2023, Romania celebrated the 161st anniversary of the establishment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the name "Department of Foreign and State Affairs").

The flight was carried out on the occasion of the 32nd anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The Ambassador of Romania noted in a conversation with the Chairman of the Federation of Aeronautics of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Mr. Takhir Saliev, that Romania is striving to deepen bilateral relations with the Republic of Uzbekistan for the benefit of both countries and peoples. Strengthening cooperation with Uzbekistan in the political, diplomatic, trade, economic, cultural and educational fields is in the sphere of priority interests of Romania in Central Asia. The ongoing reforms in Uzbekistan open up wide opportunities for expanding dialogue and contacts between Romania and Uzbekistan at all levels.

Romania will also continue to support the strengthening of cooperation between the European Union and the Republic of Uzbekistan, including under the auspices of the European Union Strategy for Central Asia, and will continue to promote connectivity projects.

Mr. Daniel Cristian Ciobanu is the first Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to fly in a hot air balloon in Uzbekistan. In 2022, on the occasion of the 31st anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Ambassador Daniel Cristian Ciobanu climbed the peak of Hazrat Sultan (4083 meters) in the Kashkadarya region.

In 2021, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Ambassador Daniel Cristian Ciobanu climbed the summit of Big Chimgan (3309 meters). From 2011 to 2016 Daniel Cristian Ciobanu was the Ambassador of Romania to the Republic of Azerbaijan (under his leadership, the Romanian Embassy in Baku acted as the NATO Contact Embassy in the Republic of Azerbaijan - the longest mandate was carried out by a Romanian diplomat as the head of the NATO Contact Embassy