Moldova and Romania agreed to diversify the product portfolio in mutual trade.
This was announced by the Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Tourism of Romania Stefan-Radu Oprea at a joint press conference with the Minister of Economic Development and Digitalization of Moldova Dumitru Alaiba following the results of a bilateral meeting and participation in the Moldovan-Romanian business forum held in Chisinau, organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Moldova (AmCham Moldova) in partnership with AmCham România with the support of the US Embassy in Moldova. Stefan-Radu Oprea explained that in the mutual trade between Moldova and Romania, 46 products account for 93% of Romanian imports to Moldova, as well as 84% of Romanian imports from Moldova. According to him, in this regard, it is extremely necessary to diversify the portfolio of products in mutual trade. In addition, the parties will continue to discuss opportunities to expand trade and attract new investments, including from Romania, from Romanian and American companies operating in the country's market, as well as firms from other countries wishing to invest in this zone. “Based on the results of the discussions, we can say that we are moving in a good direction. We will try to convince as many investors as possible from the USA, Romania and other countries to invest in Moldova in order to create more new jobs. To do this, we are removing barriers to trade, taking measures to optimize traffic at the border so that investors can have all the logistics, and the waiting time at the border is reduced to the minimum. Political stability and predictability are also important,” said Stefan-Radu Oprea. According to him, representatives of the governments of Moldova and Romania will continue to discuss the possibilities of expanding trade and attracting new investments at a meeting of the Moldovan-Romanian intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation and within the framework of a business forum, which will be organized in Bucharest. In turn, Dumitru Alaiba recalled that in recent years relations between Moldova and Romania have become even closer. Romania is Moldova's main trading partner with 21.31% of total trade. Romanian investments in Moldova are expanding, and a number of Romanian companies have decided to invest in Moldova, despite the difficult and unstable situation in the region. “Companies believe in Moldova, are satisfied with the opportunities it offers, and this is encouraging. In total, 1,600 enterprises with Romanian capital are registered in Moldova,” noted Dumitru Alaiba. According to him, the parties are discussing the possibilities of expanding trade and attracting new investments, the program of reforms being implemented in Moldova and cooperation to maintain the investment attractiveness of Moldova. As noted, despite the existing challenges, there is an increased interest in Moldova from American investors operating in the Romanian market, interested in expanding their business. This interest is supported by the program of reforms and radical changes in Moldova. This interest is planned to be translated into real investments. // 05.02.2024 — InfoMarket
