Regional meeting on public procurement and public-private partnerships, held in Bucharest from 2 to 5 December

The United States (US) Department of Commerce, in partnership with the Ministry of Finance, is organising in Bucharest, from 2 to 5 December, the regional meeting on public procurement and public-private partnerships, the Ministry of Finance announced on Tuesday."The Ministry of Finance announces the organisation in Bucharest of the fifth meeting of the European Regional Working Group on Public Procurement and Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), held under the Commercial Law Development Programme (CLDP) coordinated by the United States (US) Department of Commerce. The working session in Romania is organised with funding from the US State Department, with the support of the Ministry of Finance and in partnership with the Parliament of Romania. The event opens today in Bucharest and concludes on 5 December. It will bring together 42 representatives from 26 agencies and institutions from the US, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Montenegro, Poland, Romania and Slovakia," the ministry said in a press release sent on Tuesday.According to the cited source, the main objective is the exchange of best practices and expertise to strengthen institutional capacity in the field of public procurement and public-private partnerships, with a focus on creating a pipeline of viable PPP projects with reliable private partners, particularly in the infrastructure sector.On 5 December, a meeting dedicated to Romania will be held, with the participation of CLDP experts and representatives of central public administration (the Ministry of Transport and its subordinated companies, the Ministry of Development, Public Works and Administration, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Investments and European Projects) and local authorities (Bucharest-Ilfov Public Transport Intercommunity Development Association - ADI Transport Public Bucuresti-Ilfov)."I am pleased that we are continuing in a practical manner the solid partnership with the US Department of Commerce. We launched this regional working format in Bucharest last year together with our American partners from CLDP, before taking on the current mandate, and have continued discussions with the US Department of Commerce on attracting PPPs in Romania, including during this year's visits to Washington. American expertise in PPPs and the infusion of know-how provided by CLDP specialists will accelerate the development of local capacity, and I am confident that, through consistency and the regular resumption of these practical working formats, we will be able to significantly harness Romania's potential for attracting investment through PPPs," Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare was quoted as saying in the release.This collaboration represents major support for Romania and the region, in a context marked by the search for ways to mobilise private capital, the need for accelerated infrastructure modernisation, and the professionalisation of the PPP sector.We are proud to support Romania and our European partners in building stronger and commercially viable public-private partnership frameworks, with reliable American partners and expertise, said Zmarak Khan, Coordinator of the Commercial Law Development Programme (CLDP) within the US Department of Commerce.The day of 5 December 2025 is reserved for practical discussions and potential PPP projects in Romania, the Ministry of Finance added.Participating in the opening of both the working group and the Romania-dedicated session are Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare, Zmarak Khan, Coordinator of the Commercial Law Development Programme (CLDP) within the US Department of Commerce, and Eli Corso-Phinney, US Embassy in Romania.The working session is organised at the Palace of Parliament and includes a practical pre-screening exercise of projects proposed by participants, technical analysis of these projects in sub-groups - legal, commercial, technical, financial and institutional assessments - applied discussion sessions, as well as a final presentation followed by conclusions and a Q&A session. The approach is practical: direct work on projects with real potential, the ministry noted.This format enables the direct transfer of know-how and strengthens the capacity of Romanian specialists in the field of PPPs and procurement.Romanian participants include representatives of national and local public institutions (the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Transport, National Road Infrastructure Company - CNIR, Bucharest-Ilfov Public Transport ADI, Competition Council, National Agency for Public Procurement - ANAP).Among the US experts coordinating the working sessions in Bucharest are: Zmarak Khan - CLDP Coordinator, US Department of Commerce; Sydney Dinenberg and Conor Cunningham - International Programme Specialists, CLDP; Sam Beydoun - Senior CLDP Adviser; Brandon Davis - Attorney at Nossaman LLP, a law firm involved in major infrastructure projects in the US; and Michael Kerrigan - President, Delgany Advisory, a consultancy with more than 25 years of experience and a portfolio of over 50 PPP transactions totalling more than USD 150 billion.The Ministry of Finance notes that, by hosting this working session, Romania reaffirms its commitment to modernising the investment framework for PPPs and making use of the expertise offered by its American partners to accelerate the development of national infrastructure.