Romania is the United States’ strongest ally, partner and friend in the region in terms of promoting security, Ambassador Hans Klemm said on Thursday, October 19, at the opening ceremony of the Trade Winds 2017 business conference in Bucharest.

“As the American Ambassador to Romania, I have three priorities. One is to promote security, the security of the United States, in partnership with our very strong ally, Romania. In this effort, especially in this part of the world, there is no stronger ally, partner or friend for the United States than Romania,” the Ambassador said.

He added that Romania and the US “make a tremendous effort together to bring peace and stability to this region of the transatlantic community.”

“We also fight together on battlefields far from Romania. And together across our law enforcement communities and our military, we are leading a very strong fight against corruption, against terrorism, against organized crime, against trafficking in persons and drugs and to counter hostile intelligence efforts against Romania or the United States.”

Hans Klemm’s second priority is to promote democracy, he said, namely to support Romania’s fight against corruption, “a fight that has been increasingly credible over these past 15 years.”

The third priority is to promote prosperity for both Romania and the US. According to Klemm, it is up to the American companies and their shareholders to make decisions about where they invest and where they do business, but Romania can encourage companies to seek partnerships by encouraging an investment environment, a business climate that is welcoming and positive, “that is transparent, that is predictable, that is stable, and that is consultative of all stakeholders, including the foreign business community.”

The Ambassador also said that one of the things the US Government does to support the interactions between Romanian and American investors is the organization of events such as Trade Winds. Addressing to the American participants at the event, Hans Klemm reiterated that “there is no stronger partner for the United States in this part of the world than Romania.”

“It’s a peaceful country, one with very strong affections for the United States, it has a rapidly growing economy, the fastest growing in the European Union; it offers an investment climate that is increasingly favorable and it has a government that is, in my experience, very, very interested in deepening the bonds between American companies and Romanian ones.”

Trade Winds is an American commercial mission whose purpose is to connect US and foreign companies, to help them create business partnerships. Around 100 American companies came to Bucharest for this year's conference, where they had contacts with over 215 Romanian companies, an opportunity for these companies to develop joint projects, according to a statement from the Romanian Government.

Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Ro.usembassy.gov; photo credit: Lucian Crusoveanu / Public Diplomacy Office)