(P) Romania-Turkey Business Forum, organized by the National Chamber, an important step towards increasing bilateral trade to $10 bln

Bucharest October 9th, 2012: The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania - National Chamber, together with the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists – TUSKON, with the assistance of The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the support of the Romanian Centre for Trade and Foreign Investment Promotion, held a Forum on "Trade and investment between Turkey and Romania", at the Palace of the National Chamber.

H.E. the Ambassador of Turkey in Bucharest, Mr. Ömür Şölendil, attended the event and welcomed the Turkish businessmen delegation, together with Turkish entrepreneurs representatives, who already conduct business in Romania, and local operators. In his opening speech, Mr. Barry Kolodkin, Regional Programme Director, UNDP / BSTIP (United Nations Development Programme/ Black Sea Trade and Investment Promotion Programme) said that stimulating regional cooperation, expanding SMEs internationalization and investments capacity in the Black Sea area represent an important goal for surpassing the economic crisis. As a matter of fact, the ties between Romania and Turkey have been consolidated in time, Turkey being Romania’s 5th commercial partner and ranking 3rd in foreign investors’ hierarchy, as H.E. Mr. Ömür Şölendil highlighted in his speech. "The National Chamber, the most important public institution of private law in Romania" can significantly contribute to the creation of stable partnerships between Romanian and Turkish businesses, by maximizing the Chamber’s System network potential, asserted in turn Mr. Marin Niculcea, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Teleorman, who conveyed the message of H.E the President of the National Chamber, Mr. Mihail M. Vlasov. Moreover, CCIR is the coordinator of the Romanian side in the Bilateral Business Council, whose president is Mr. Marin Niculcea. Thus, the Business Forum held in Bucharest was also a good opportunity to enrich the institutional relations of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania, by signing a cooperation agreement with the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists –TUSKON In this respect, TUSKON, which counts for 40,000 memberships and contacts in 140 countries, will act as a bridge between the two business communities, the common target being to achieve, as soon as possible, a volume of bilateral trade between Romania and Turkey of $ 10 billion, according to the statements made by Mr. Ahmet Ciğer, TUSKON Executive President. The solution to the economic crisis is represented by such strong partnerships, focused on projects of common interest, added Mr. Sorin Dimitriu, Vice-President of the National Chamber and President of CCI Bucharest. The main areas of interest emerging during the following the bilateral discussions were: construction, infrastructure, IT, electrical equipment, spare parts, chemicals, plastics, textiles, agriculture and last but not least, the possibility of accessing European funds. Chamber Representation Division Public Relations Office