Romanian – American Relations

Roxana Vasile, 29.09.2015, 14:44

Addressing the UN
General Assembly, visiting the Ground Zero of the 9/11 Memorial in New York,
meeting with representatives of the Romanian citizens in the United States and
holding high-level talks in Washington were high on the agenda of Romanian
president Klaus Iohannis’s visit to the United States. On Monday, President
Iohannis met with the American Vice President Joe Biden at the White House to
discuss, among other things, the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the
USA. If this Partnership is excellent in political and military terms,
President Iohannis said, there is a lot to be done as far as economy is
concerned. In a message conveyed on the opening of the BestInvest Romania
Investment Forum, held in New York, President Iohannis pointed out that America
may become one of the most important foreign investors in Romania in the
following years.

The Romanian-American trade is, however, on an upward trend,
which is a clear sign of progress, but in order to fully capitalize on all
economic opportunities, the obstacles in the way of free trade and effective
investment must first be removed. Another important thing is to win back the
investors’ trust which can be done only by improving the institutional quality
of the Romanian business environment. That involves protecting property,
reducing bureaucracy, rendering public administration more efficient and
fighting corruption. Besides discussing about the bilateral economic ties,
President Klaus Iohannis and vice president Joe Biden also approached the topic
of corruption in Romania. Topical international issues, particularly the
situation in the Republic of Moldova and the refugee crisis in Europe were also
tackled. At the conclusion of the meting, President Iohannis said:

Vice
President Biden has voiced satisfaction at the progress made in the fight
against corruption and has expressed confidence that efforts will further be
made in this respect. We have jointly assessed several questions related to
security, Romania’s security in particular, given that we are close to a crisis
area.

According to the
Romanian Presidency, US vice president Joe Biden said he would have direct
communication with President Iohannis, by phone conversations or through
Romania’s new Ambassador to Washington, George Maior. Joe Biden was extended
the invitation to attend a NATO mini-summit due in Bucharest in November, to be
also attended by countries at the Alliance’s eastern border, such as Romania,
Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania, Estonia and
Latvia. The meeting will be held ahead of next year’s NATO Summit in Warsaw.