The commercial exchanges between the US and Romania could exceed USD 3 billion by the end of this year, reaching a historic high, Romanian business environment minister Ilan Laufer said yesterday.

This is related to the fact that Romania has allocated 2% of its GDP to the defense sector this year and has directed more than 40% of its defense budget for the acquisition of state-of-the-art military technology, mainly from the US.

“We are the most pro-American country in the European Union and we support the leadership and importance of the US in the world,” Laufer said.

Last week, Romania made the payment for the first Patriot missile system, worth USD 766 million. Romania will buy more Patriot missile systems as well as helicopters and armored vehicles from US companies.

The Defense Ministry will have a budget of RON 18.1 billion (EUR 3.9 billion) in 2018, up 11.3% over 2017. This represents 2% of the country’s GDP.

editor@romania-insider.com