German companies operating in Romania intend to expand their business in Moldova and see good potential for development in our country.
This was stated by the leadership of the German-Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AHK România) after a meeting in Bucharest with a delegation of the Moldovan government headed by Prime Minister Dorin Recean. At the meeting, representatives of 20 German companies discussed aspects of expanding cooperation. Some German companies already have businesses that they want to expand in Moldova, while others want to enter the Moldovan market. German companies from the following fields participated in the meeting with the Moldovan Prime Minister: research and development, education, pharmaceuticals and agriculture, consulting and engineering, automotive, packaging and processing, construction, food, sanitation and processing services, gas, energy, medical equipment, tourism. General Manager of AHK România, Sebastian Metz, said that representatives of interested German companies will visit Chisinau this summer. "AHK România has been cooperating with the business community and the Moldovan authorities for many years, but since 2020 it has an official mandate to strengthen trilateral trade between Germany, Romania and Moldova. Our advantage is that we have a strong German-Romanian business community of 600 member companies which we want to strengthen by integrating Moldova into our activities. Thanks to the today's meeting, we can say that we made one more step to strengthen the partnership with Moldova," he said. For his part, Dorin Recean said he is a supporter of the business environment, because it brings prosperity. He assured that Moldova's security challenges in the complex context of Russian aggression in the region can be controlled, and the government he leads is focused on economic issues. "We are aware that we are affected by the war in Ukraine, and we believe that Ukrainians protect us, Europe and the whole democratic value system that allows us to be free, invest and produce prosperity, but the security challenges are under control," he explained. Dorin Recean mentioned some facilities that businessmen benefit from when investing in Moldova. The Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with the European Union is among them, which lowered tariffs for European companies exporting to Moldova and simplified customs procedures. Other measures to support the business environment currently being implemented include the integration of Moldovan capital markets with those of Romania, which will allow Moldovan companies also to access financing from Romania, where capital markets have more sophisticated financing instruments. In terms of training, the Moldovan government is focusing on the training of engineers, IT scientists and other specialists needed by the industry, as well as on dual vocational education based on the German model. In addition, there will be subsidies for small and medium-sized enterprises for research activities in industry, which will make it possible to apply the Horizon Europe research and innovation funding program. Moldova also has an ambitious agenda for energy infrastructure, road and rail transport in the hope that it can participate in the reconstruction of Ukraine in the future. AHK România reports that German companies present at the meeting commended Moldova's development potential and presented their expectations and needs for business development to the Prime Minister. Security problems and the desire of Moldovan officials to communicate openly and directly with the business community about the ways to ensure the safety of people and businesses in the context of the conflict in the region were noted. Other needs of companies are related to customs procedures, long waiting times at the borders, and different tax systems. Currently, there are 140 companies with German capital in Moldova, and the volume of trade in 2022 increased 16.5% compared to the previous year, reaching 830 million euros. AHK România, the German-Romanian Chamber of Commerce, is the official representative of the German economy in Romania. Founded in 2002, AHK România has over 580 member companies and offers companies an important platform for networking, exchange of information and experience. By providing services and organizing events, AHK România actively supports German companies when they enter the Romanian market and is also a partner of Romanian companies interested in the German market. Since January 1, 2020, AHK România also operates a Competence Center for Moldova, which strengthens trilateral relations between companies from Romania, Moldova and Germany. // 06.03.2023 – InfoMarket
