Romania-Britain: Let’s get married

Who is the greatest diplomat of all time? Metternich – master of the Congress of  Vienna? Titulescu, the engineer of ‘entente’? Or perhaps Kissinger who took Nixon to China? No. The greatest diplomat of all time is Cupid. This cheeky cherub has done more for the cause of international relations than all the worlds’ diplomatic services put together. And last weekend I flew back to London to admire his handywork once again.

A colleague of mine in the Foreign Office was getting married – to a lovely Romanian bride from Piatra Neamt. This European nuptial was fashioned in Brussels, where she was working, as well as a scholarship which first took her to the UK to study in a British university. And so we were gathered together, a congregation of British and Romanian friends and family, to witness this union of Romania and the UK represented by one happy couple. The wedding was in a very English setting – a beautiful and ancient church, in a sleepy village set in the Northamptonshire countryside. But the wine on the tables was from Cotnari and the dancing was Romanian and went on well into the night.

As diplomats, we spend our careers trying to forge relationships between states. With endless meetings, negotiations, receptions, exchanges we attempt to bring countries together – for commerce, for mutual security, for partnerships built on common values and interests. But Cupid lets loose his arrow and – bingo – he does it all in one shot! We can only admire his success and mark it down in the registers in our Consulate. Another thread is added to the relationship between two countries, another Romano- British family is created, another bridge spans our two cultures. It’s these links between individual Romanian and British people, whether as partners in marriage, colleagues in business, fellow students or just friends that have multiplied enormously in the last two decades and which do more than any diplomat can to bring our countries together.

Here’s to my newly-wed friends! I wish them every joy and happiness. Casa de piatra!