EXCLUSIVE - Prime Minister Ciolacu visits EURONAVAL, the most important naval military technology event in the EU and the world, in Paris

Special Correspondence from Paris – Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu is visiting on Monday the 29th edition of the Euronaval Exhibition, organized by SOGENA (Naval Events Organization and Management Company), a subsidiary of GICAN.

It is the first action of the official visit of the Head of the Executive to France.

The special correspondent of Ecopolitic.ro, Iulian Ionescu, transmits the main moments of the official visit of Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu to France.

Marcel Ciolacu visited the 29th edition of the Euronaval Exhibition, organized by SOGENA (Naval Events Organization and Management Company), a subsidiary of GICAN.

The stands visited by the Romanian delegation are AIRBUS, GRUP NAVAL, THALES INTERNATIONAL, MBDA.

During the visit, the Prime Minister exchanged ideas with representatives from the stands visited.

The exhibition visited by Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu is one of the most important naval military technology events in the European Union and worldwide, organized every two years.

The Romanian Ambassador to France, Ioana Bivolaru, Defense Minister Angel Tîlvăr, Foreign Minister Luminița Odobescu, Labor Minister Simona Bucura Oprescu, Secretary General of the Government Marian Neacșu, MEP Victor Negrescu, and representatives of the Ministry of Defense were present, together with Prime Minister Ciolacu.

France is traditionally a privileged partner of Romania at European, NATO and global level, including at the level of the main international organizations.

The Strategic Partnership between Romania and France was established by a Joint Declaration signed in February 2008 in Bucharest by the Presidents of the two countries.

The two Heads of State also signed a Political Declaration on the Strategic Partnership in Paris in November 2018.

The signing of the Declaration coincided with the launch of the Romania-France Season, a wide-ranging public and cultural diplomacy project carried out in both countries, which also coincided with Romania’s Presidency of the EU Council and the celebration of the Centenary of the Great Union.

The Strategic Partnership is accompanied by a regularly updated Roadmap, a document that includes the priorities for bilateral cooperation at European and international level.

The year 2025 will mark 145 years of bilateral relations between the two countries.

Trade

In 2023, the volume of bilateral trade amounted to EUR 11.12 billion (+ 6.57% compared to the same period of the previous year), of which exports 5.9 bn. EUR (+6.72%) and imports 5.21 bn. The trade balance recorded a surplus for RO of EUR 689 million.

France is among RO’s most important trading partners. Figures for 2023 place FRANCE in 3rd place in exports.

In the first 7 months of 2024 (July 31, 2024), the volume of bilateral trade was EUR 6.67 billion (+1.06%), with an export value of EUR 3.48 billion (-1.22%) and an import value of EUR 3.18 billion (+3.68%).

The structure of exports remains constant, at the level of the same groups of goods, with a concentration on the following groups of products: machinery, appliances, electrical equipment and vehicles, aircraft and transportation equipment.

French investments in Romania

According to ONRC data, as of June 30, 2024, 10,893 companies with French capital were registered in Romania, of which around 5,000 are active, with a volume of subscribed capital of EUR 2.40 billion, or 4.97% of total foreign direct investment.

France ranks 6th among foreign investors. The main companies investing in Romania are: Renault France, Airbus Group, Orange, Valeo, Carrefour, Engie, BRD – Société Générale, Accor Hotels, Auchan, Oxylane, Veolia, Alcatel-Lucent, Sanofi, Leroy-Merlin.