Romania projects Bucharest as Southeast Europe’s economic hub Wednesday, 27 July 2011 01:51

Romania is positioning its capital city Bucharest as southeast Europe’s hub for economic development of the region by attracting foreign investments in infrastructure, agriculture and energy sectors.

Decision-makers and experts are mulling plans to this end that will spur growth in Bulgaria, Hungary, Moldova and Serbia, countries adjacent to Romania, at the first in a series of discussions at the Bucharest International Forum (BIF) which opened here July 4 and concludes July 31.

The Forum is the initiative of Bucharest City Hall together with Forum Invest, the Romanian Banking Institute, EURISC Foundation, the Romanian Employers’ Confederation of Industry, Services, and Commerce (CPISC), the National Council of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in Romania (CNIPMMR) and more than other 20 private and institutional partners in Southeast Europe.

Forum officials and key decision-makers Qatar News Agency (QNA) spoke with in Bucharest expressed their urgency for southeast Europe and Romania, in particular, to catch up with the developed economies in western Europe like the United Kingdom, Germany and France.

The General Mayor of Bucharest Dr Sorin Mircea Oprescu said, “Bucharest’s recent infrastructure developments have turned it into a promising city in southeast Europe. Besides infrastructure, the region has a huge potential in the agriculture and energy sectors.”

Romania’s infrastructure drive gathered momentum last month when the country’s most ambitious urban development in 20 years came to fruition with last month’s opening of the Basarab flyover in Bucharest.

A initiative of City Hall of Bucharest, the Basarab flyover is Romania’s longest (360 metres) and widest (43.3m) suspension bridge in central Bucharest that will transport 32 million passengers annually, said Dr Oprescu, a general surgeon and former president of Social Democratic Party, Bucharest.

The overpass is part of Bucharest’s roads modernization and rehabilitation plan to be fully completed next month. This project, based on the study ‘Comprehensive Urban Transport Study of Bucharest City and its Metropolitan Area’, aims to correct the traffic congestion and ease the crossing of the Dambovita River at Mihai Bravu Road.

After the city’s and Romania’s highways development projects are complete, the southeast Europe’s agriculture and energy sector can be developed, officials said at the BIF.

At the ‘Agriculture and Agribusiness in Southeast Europe’ Conference organized within the BIF, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Dacian Ciolos said allocation for agriculture holds an important stake in the budget for 2014-202 which the European Commission recently adopted.

“There are three main objectives: sustaining the food quality, the contribution of agricultural sector to a better management of the natural resources, and the contribution of agriculture to cohesion in the rural areas,” said Ciolos.

Officials from Romania’s neighbouring countries reiterated the urgency to develop the agricultural sector that could help the region comprising Bulgaria, Moldova, Serbia, Hungary, Albania, Croatia, Macedonia and further south Greece and Turkey.

Moldavia’s Minister of Agriculture Vasile Bumacov said at the Forum, “We have a huge market in the East and Romania’s experience on modernizing agriculture would benefit us too.”

Director for Agricultural Policies in the Croatian Government, Miroslav Bozic said, “Croatia has made significant efforts to implement the Common Agricultural Policy and this Forum is a very important occasion to promote the food potential from our countries.”

Experts at the BIF told QNA that “the strategy of developing southeast Europe as an economic hub is prudent since the region is a vital link between western Europe and energy-rich Middle East as well as north Africa.”

Forum Invest President and CEO Bogdan Popovici told QNA, “The prospects of developing this region are a win-win situation for all – the investors, the developers and producers. These countries, Romania in particular, are looking to further trade and business ties with GCC countries that have more offer than just oil and gas.”

The key points and conclusions as well as the future strategy for the region after the conclusion of the Forum, will be debated at the Forum Invest Club to be held in Geneva from July 28 to 31, 2011 that will involve a high-level think-tank reunion of international leaders from politics, business and the media.

QNA

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