Economic cooperation in Energy, Agriculture and SME development between Romania and the United States

Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos and members of his cabinet visited the United States between the 22 and 25th of May, where he had several meetings with the representatives of the US administration involved in supporting and developing the economic collaboration, including U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden.

During the discussions, the Romanian Prime Minister and the U.S. Vice President have approached some of the main aspects on the bilateral agenda, focusing on the common interest to consolidate the Strategic Partnership, which is at the basis of the cooperation between the two countries. The two senior officials have expressed their satisfaction for the excellent level of the security and defence dimension, outlining that there are favorable premises for its consolidation.

„The main aim of this visit is to consolidate the economic dimension of the Strategic Partnership so that the economic cooperation attains the same high level of excellence and positive dynamics as the interaction at the political - military level”, Prime Minister Ciolos has stated. In turn, Vice President Biden has outlined that Romania was and remains a reliable U.S. partner and ally. Also, he has stated that there is a mutual interest to use the significant development potential of economic cooperation.

The discussions have also aimed at the preparation stage of the Warsaw NATO Summit to be held in July, this year. Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos has presented the security and defence aspects which are of a particular interest for Romania, as well as the national position with respect to the main topics that will be submitted to debate during the high-level meeting. Prime Minister has outlined the fact that Romania wants the active support of the United States for an advanced Allied presence on the entire Eastern flank, from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea.

In turn, the Vice President Biden has reconfirmed the U.S. commitment both at Romanian – American bilateral level, and in allied context, with a view to streghtening the security and defence in the Euro-Atlantic space. The U.S. official has welcome Romania’s active involvement in the efforts to prevent and combat the security risks and challenges faced by the North Atlantic Alliance.

The USA will support Romania in developing financial instruments for small and medium enterprises, and also for increasing the quality of state companies' management. According to the Romanian Government's press release, in the next period, they will identify new ways for encouraging the export capacities of the Romanian companies, and that the American part will encourage their companies to intensify the commercial exchanges and investments, due to the country's stability and legislative predictability.

Ciolos and Minister of Agriculture, Achim Irimescu, ensured the American party that Romania has restored the food safety conditionality so that they can recommence exporting pork and other groceries to the USA.

The collaboration between the Romanian specialty institutions and American partners was also tackled concerning the energy sector, where strategies for Romania becoming a center of energy resources in the region could be of interest for the USA, and modern and energy efficient methods should be used for a fair exploration.

Also, the effects of a Transatlantic Partnership for Commerce and Investments in a bilateral plan were a subject of discussion between the two parties.

by Mihaela Constantin