VICTOR PONTA: “We have kept the promises we made to the Romanian people, and the results of our policies are starting to show. The investors’ increased confidence, the economic stability of the country, Romania’s increasingly good foreign relations, the unblocking of European funding become all part of a Strategic Plan for Romania, which contains several successive specific steps.
This Plan envisages the attraction of investments worth at least 10 billion Euros, in key areas for economic growth such as the IT industry, the automobile industry, communications, energy, mineral resources, agriculture, and highways. The plan also looks to create at least 50,000 new jobs in the next six months, after 100,000 stable jobs were added to the economy over the last year.
"The foreign visits, the efforts we have made to mend our relations with important states from Europe and from Asia, will help us attract important investors. Romania is a stable country, with a healthy economic growth, which enjoys a safe economic and political climate.
"The Plan started last year. The first step, started during an electoral year, got Romania out of recession, lowered the budgetary deficit below the 3% of the GDP threshold and comprised several social justice measures. The second stage, started this year, managed to unlock the operational programs financed via European resources and succeeded to improve Romania’s political and economic foreign relations. At the same time, we have observed our commitments taken in front of the European Commission, the World Bank and the IMF. We have improved the economic partnerships with important international actors such as Germany, France, Italy, Austria, as well as with several important Asian countries, most notably China. Romania remains nevertheless committed to its European and Euro-Atlantic path.
"After several visits abroad, the benefits are starting to appear, several investors announcing their intention to come to Romania or to consolidate their presence here: Daimler, Chevron, Exxon, ZTE, Huawei, Oracle, Bosch, Vinci, Pirelli etc. The list is long and the signals are positive.
"For us, this Plan represents a chance for prosperity and economic growth, for overcoming the development gap that still separates us from many EU countries. We remain committed to implementing all the steps of this development plan.”