Publicat pe 28/03/2023

Bucharest, March 28, 2023: The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania (CCIR) organized on Tuesday, March 28, the Romania-Poland Economic Forum, an event held on the sidelines of the joint meeting of the governments of the two states. The economic forum benefited from the presence of the Prime Minister of the Government of Romania, Mr. Nicolae-Ionel Ciucă and the Prime Minister of the Government of Poland, Mr. Mateusz Morawiecki. Also, the B2B sessions that followed the official opening were attended by over 40 Romanian and Polish companies, from different sectors of activity, such as: defense, IT&C, agriculture, energy and transport, smart city solutions and urban mobility.

“To begin with, I would like to emphasize that the first international agreement I signed as president of the CCIR was the one with the Polish Chamber of Commerce. I take this opportunity to thank the two prime ministers, the highest dignitaries of Romania and Poland, for practically officiating this business forum. Businessmen, in general, need stability, mutual trust, and we hope that the upcoming B2B meetings between representatives of Romanian and Polish companies will be extremely beneficial for both parties. Trade with Poland, recorded last year, was worth 10.94 billion euros, with a significant increase compared to the previous year. At the same time, we have always made a distinction between exchanges of goods and products and exchanges of services, and here we can say that we recorded exchanges of services of 835 million euros in 2022. Unfortunately, for Romania, we only exported 3.5 billion euros and we imported 7.44 billion euros. So, Romania has a lot of work to do to balance the trade balance”, said the president of the CCIR, Mr. Mihai Daraban.

“I am very glad to have the opportunity to participate, together with my Polish counterpart, in this economic forum on the same day that we host the joint meeting and the joint government meeting. It is an event that comes to mark the very good relations both politically and economically between Romania and Poland. Mr. President Daraban was referring to an event that happened eight years ago. I have to mention that Romania and Poland have a Strategic Partnership signed in 2009, so there is a very solid consistency on well-founded bases from the highest level to the level of economic relations, so that, together, we can find solutions for collaboration and strengthening the relations between our countries. Indeed, last year was a beneficial year for the business community in Romania and Poland. We are discussing this figure of almost 11 billion euros, as presented by Mr. President Daraban. It is an increase of approximately 20% compared to the year 2021. Unfortunately, the trade balance deficit is against Romania and here I am convinced that the role and level of ambition of Romanian businessmen come into play, so that together we can identify those solutions through which let’s balance this trade balance”, declared the Prime Minister of Romania, Mr. Nicolae-Ionel Ciucă.

“The role of the Central and Eastern European region has increased, in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine. We see that, with the Russian aggression in Ukraine, the role of this region, in which we live, in which we create economic and social values, is increasing, that is why I believe, in depth, that in this triangle between Ukraine, Romania and Poland it will be possible in soon – hopefully as soon as possible, after the victory of Ukraine and the achievement of peace – to build some significant strategic plans, which will be very ambitious from an economic, investment and business point of view, but also ambitious from a strategic point of view, from the point of view of military cooperation and from the point of view of creating a new economic community of over 100 million people in the Central European region”, said the Prime Minister of Poland, Mr. Mateusz Morawiecki.

“Economic forums organized on the sidelines of official visits are the best example of good practice because they give the respective event added value and security. Romania and Poland have developed, over time, very good economic and social relations. Now, it can be said that both economies face the same challenges, namely: the crisis generated by the war in Ukraine and the inflation registered at the European level, elements that have a strong impact on the entire continent. Today’s event thus becomes very important especially in our attempt to find the best solutions for solving these problems. We are present here with more than 30 Polish companies, private and state, which are active in various fields, such as banking, transport, the environment and the food industry. These are key areas for the economies of both countries and I am convinced that within this forum we can develop joint projects that generate solid economic growth”, said the president of the Polish Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Andrzej Arendarski.