Romania aims to remain the main trading partner of the Republic of Moldova. However, work should be done to diversify the range of products traded between the two countries. Statements to this effect were made by Romania’s Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Tourism, Ștefan-Radu Oprea in a news conference held jointly with his Moldovan counterpart Dumitru Alaiba, IPN reports.
“Forty-six products account for 93% of the Republic of Moldova’s total imports from Romania and also 46 products account for 84% of Romania’s imports, this time from the Republic of Moldova. By 46 products is not enough. We can diversify the portfolio a lot, but we can do this by managing to convince investors from Romania, from other areas of the world that there is an opportunity for business in this part of Europe. I believe that there is a moment for each country and that our moment, of the Republic of Moldova and Romania, is the current one,” stated the Romanian minister.
According to Ștefan-Radu Oprea, economists from all over the world say that the highest economic growth in the European Union area will be Romania’s the coming years. “It is a dynamic area, an effervescent area, an area where the business environment can grow its investment and business dynamics and these things must happen together, the economy of the Republic of Moldova with the economy of Romania,” he added.
The Romanian minister said that, while in Chisinau and participating in the Business Forum organized by the Romanian-American Chamber of Commerce, he discussed with officials and entrepreneurs the opportunities to invest in this area of Europe, in the Republic of Moldova. He believes that as a result of the discussions that took place with the Association of Romanian Investors in Moldova, things are going in a very good direction and the effort to invest over €400 million in Moldova’s economy for the citizens would mean over 10,000 jobs and increased prosperity.
Ștefan-Radu Oprea noted that they also discussed the existing barriers to the trade between the two sides of the Prut River, how the customs traffic was streamlined and why it is necessary to continue to better deal with the existing challenges so that Romanian and foreign investors who can come to Moldova have all logistics at their disposal and waiting time is reduced to the maximum. This is one of the things that the Government of the Republic of Moldova and the Government of Romania are working on jointly.
The Romanian official said that one of the common achievements is that, from a political point of view, stability was ensured in the area - stability that comes to bring confidence to businesses that their investments will be medium-term and achievable ones. Also, the fact that the European Parliament spoke in favor of opening Moldova’s negotiation with the European Union is a victory both in Chisinau and Bucharest.
For his part, the Minister of Economic Development and Digitalization of the Republic of Moldova Dumitru Alaiba said that Romania ranks first among Moldova’s trading partners worldwide, accounting for 21.31% of the country’s total trade value. In his opinion, this shows both the firmness of the bilateral relations and the mutual trust in trade.
The growing presence of Romanian investments and investors in Chisinau, but also throughout the country is another aspect. “Romanian companies believe in the Republic of Moldova. They believe in the opportunities that the Republic of Moldova can offer. In total, we have over 1,600 registered companies with Romanian capital. For our economy, this is a significant proportion,” stated Dumitru Alaiba.
The minister added that Romania was, is and will be a firm supporter of Moldova, including on the irreversible path of European integration.
