President Iohannis meets representatives of the Confederation of Italian Employers’ Associations (Confindustria): Romania wants to consolidate its traditional exports to Italy

President Klaus Iohannis said on Tuesday, in Rome, that the Bucharest authorities want to consolidate Romanian traditional exports on the Italian market. “It is worth noticing that there is a remarkable increase in the entrepreneurial activity of Romanian citizens in Italy. There are tens of thousands of companies set up by Romanians in Italy (…) On the other hand, Italian entrepreneurs are particularly active in Romania, with direct investment of nearly 2.5 billion euro. This figure places Italy at the top of the countries of origin of entrepreneurs having founded companies in Romania and on the fifth place in the ranking of foreign investments in our economy. We want to consolidate traditional Romanian exports to Italy from industries such as automotive industry, machinery and electrical equipment and automation, clothing and furniture industry. At the same time, we encourage investment interest in areas such as IT & C, agro-food, tourism and financial services,” Iohannis said at a meeting with representatives of the Confederation of Italian Employers’ Association (Confindustria). According to the head of state, the Romanian community in the Peninsula, which includes over 1.2 million citizens, “significantly contributes to the economy’s, but also the Italian society’s development.” “I also salute the contribution of the important and numerous Italian community in Romania to our country’s prosperity. Italy, one of the largest global economies and the third economy of the Euro Zone, is the second commercial partner of Romania, and commercial exchanges show a consistent growth trend. According to the experts’ assessment, this trend will continue. Only in the first half of this year trade amounted to almost 8 billion Euro, by 6 percent more than the same period of last year, with the potential of exceeding 15 billion Euro in 2018, which represents the highest value of the last 10 years,” Iohannis showed. Furthermore, the president said that Romania records an economic growth estimated to reach 4 or 5 percent this year, and our economy offers a wide array of competitive advantages and support programs. “Italy benefits from a strong entrepreneurial tradition and this is why I encourage you, the Italian and Romanian business people in Italy, to explore the competitive advantages of the Romanian economy. I am referring especially to the energy sectors, industrial production or IT&C, commerce and services, fields that were also on the agenda of the Three Seas Summit that Romania has recently hosted, successfully, I might add. You, the Romanian business people in Italy, have an important role in bringing or repatriating (…) the experience and entrepreneurial spirit that you have acquired here. Furthermore, I invite you to involve your Italian partners in this endeavor and thus become (…) genuine business ambassadors of Romania,” Iohannis further affirmed. The Romanian President also emphasised during his meeting with the representatives of the Confederation of Italian Employers’ Associations that it is very important for European political decisionmakers to hear the voice of the business environment on topics of common interest. “As entrepreneurs, you best know the fact that the business environment needs an efficient legislative framework, strong institutions, stable and predictable laws. So, stability and predictability. From this standpoint, your involvement in the relationship with public authorities and the political class is essential, something that is valid in Italy just as it is in Romania,” the Head of State said. “Only this way can we sustainably support investments, entrepreneurship and the values of the market economy. Aside from existing opportunities, I encourage you to also reflect on several topics relevant for the long-term development of our economies. “I have in mind the development and consolidation of transport infrastructure, energy infrastructure, incentivising SMEs, but also topics such as the digitalisation of the economy and public administration, investments in education and top-level professional training, with special emphasis on integrating the youth on the labour market,” Iohannis added. Likewise, he said that it is very important for European political decisionmakers to hear the business environment’s voice on topics of common interest, such as stimulating economic growth and employment, encouraging entrepreneurship and protecting interests in international trade negotiations. “We must go beyond nationalist-isolationist thinking and really create a strong European economy. Without this step toward profound integration of our economies, the European Union will not be able to maintain the top rank it holds in the global economy. And these top-level domains, present-day technologies, are the first to feel the need for deeper integration, for more intense collaboration and for a development that can only take place if several national economies work together. In the ideal situation, obviously 28, or 27 in a less ideal situation in which we will find ourselves next year, but this 27 is mandatory,” President Klaus Iohannis stated.

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