International Affairs
On January 18th 2018, the Chamber of Commerce of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Romanian Embassy in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Romania-Luxembourg Business Forum asbl organized a country seminar on the various business opportunities in Romania.
The seminar was organized in the presence of His Excellency Lilian Zamfiroiu, Ambassador of Romania to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and His Excellency Lazar Comanescu, Ambassador, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Senior Adviser to the President of the Romanian Chamber of Commerce, accompanied by a delegation of businessmen and businesswomen from Romania. The two officials were greeted by Carlo Thelen, Director General of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, before the seminar in order to discuss bilateral trade prospects. The following seminar, moderated by Jeannot Erpelding, Director International Affairs at the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, included speakers such as Cristina Cocîrla, Head of Promotion & Marketing, Foreign Investment Department, Ministry of the Business Environment, Commerce and Entrepreneurship of Romania, Jonathan Beggiato, Associate LPG Fiduciaire, Razvan Petru Radu, President of Romania Luxemburg Business Forum Asbl (Romlux) and Cosmin Cosma, Managing Partner at Finqware, a Romanian Fintech Startup implanted in Luxembourg. You may find their presentations as attachments at the bottom of this article.
In front of an audience of 80 participants, the speakers described the advantages and challenges of doing business in Romania, and in particular the potential of increasing the already impressive €440 Million of yearly exchange of goods and services. Both the Ambassador and the former Minister of Foreign Affairs showed strong optimism for future commercial collaboration. On the occasion, the Romanian Chamber of Commerce proposed a renewal of the already existing Memorandum of Understanding between both chambers (signed in 2002).
Romania in figures:
As a business gateway between Western and Eastern Europe, Romania offers a stable economic environment, one of the most robust and strong economic growth in the European Union, a market of considerable dimensions (Romania is the 7th largest country in the EU in terms of population) and significant developments in the fields of technology and innovation.
A dynamic economy, a highly educated and skilled talent pool, a touristic potential to be discovered, a strong industrial infrastructure are all assets to make Romania a strategic choice and a potential future business destination.
Romania ranks 1st in the EU in top of economic growth (5,7%), with more than double of the EU average (2,4%). In 2016, the GDP grew by 4,8% compared to 2015. Foreign Direct Investments increased by 24% in the first four months of 2017, reaching approximately 1,3 billion EUR, a positive trend expected to continue.
Romania also ranked first among European countries with the highest average peak internet connection speed (Q3, 2016).
Romania counts more than 30.000 people working in the research field, out of wich 18.000 are high skilled researchers. The most advanced research facility in the world focusing on the study of photonuclear physics and its applications is placed in Romania: the Extreme Light Infrastructure - Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP).
Bucharest, the capital of Romania, with a population of almost 2 million inhabitants, is the 6th largest city in the EU and has direct and connecting flights to 84 European destinations in 29 countries, out of wich direct flights to 23 EU capital cities.
The seminar, open to all sectors of activity, included a presentation of the Romanian economy, useful advices and tips for investors, as well as testimonials from Luxembourg companies active in Romania.
You can find the programme and the presentations below.
