Romanian PM Marcel Ciolacu received by Pope Francis during visit to Italy

Romanian prime minister Marcel Ciolacu was received by Pope Francis on Thursday, February 15, whom he thanked for the support provided to Romanian communities.

During the two-day working visit to Italy, the Romanian PM also met with Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni, other Italian officials, and members of the Romanian community.

"Today I had the special opportunity to discuss with His Holiness Pope Francis at the Vatican and express my gratitude for the support provided to Romanian communities in Italy and throughout Europe," Ciolacu said on Facebook.

The meeting between the two lasted approximately 25 minutes. The Pope offered the Romanian official a bronze bas-relief and several books. Marcel Ciolacu gave Pope Francis a painting depicting the seven martyr bishops beatified - meaning the confirmation of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven - by Pope Francis in 2019. He also gave him some specific Romanian products, according to News.ro.

The Romanian prime minister was on an official visit to Italy on February 14-15, accompanied by several members of the cabinet. He also met with his Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni, and representatives of the Italian business community.

"I am here to send a strong signal to Italian companies. Come and invest in Romania because you will only gain!" Ciolacu said.

"The Italian business environment already present in Romania contributes to the economic development of our country. Just a few days ago, I visited an Italian-owned shipyard where 4,000 people work, and I was impressed by the way and the working conditions. [...] At the same time, I am pleased to see that Romanians here have reached second place in a ranking of foreigners opening businesses in Italy, with tens of thousands of companies and individual enterprises. Moreover, several important Romanian companies have invested in Italy in recent years: Banca Transilvania, Digi, Bitdefender, or UiPath, all leaders in their fields of activity," he added.

On his trip to Italy, the PM also met with members of the local Romanian communities and other Italian officials.

“A year ago, we met for the first time. I was the president of the Chamber of Deputies, and together, we realized that it was unacceptable that for so many years, there hadn't been a joint session of the two governments, and especially that there hadn't been an economic forum for so many years. In the meantime, Italy is Romania's second-largest partner in the European Union. We had trade relations of over EUR 20 billion last year. And you, representatives of the Romanian diaspora in Italy, rank second in the number of companies you have established in Italy. In Italy, there is a diaspora of over a million Romanians,” Ciolacu said, cited in the official press release.