Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said on Friday Romania is deeply interested in consolidating cooperation with South Korea in the areas of green energy and digital technologies and encourages investments in these sectors, as well as a tighter connection between the SMEs in the two states, according to Agerpres.

According to a Government release, Prime Minister Ciuca participated with South Korean PM Han Duck-soo in a Romania – the Republic of Korea business round table, on the sidelines of the visit he is paying to Seoul, together with Chamber Speaker Marcel Ciolacu and a governmental and parliamentary delegation.

On this occasion, Nicolae Ciuca voiced Romania’s interest in consolidating the traditionally good relations between the two states and reinvigorate the strategic partnership that will celebrate 15 years since launching next year.

Ciuca stressed the availability of the Romanian authorities of having an open dialogue with South Korean companies to identify new investment opportunities in Romania, as well as on the incentives and conditions that would make these investments attractive and beneficial for both sides.

„Romania has the entire openness to facilitate investments to South Korean companies. We are deeply interested in consolidating cooperation in the areas of green energy and digital technologies, as well as the connections between the SMEs in our countries. We are following the partnership with KOSME (Korea SMEs and Startups Agency) for setting up a Technological Exchange Centre in Bucharest. In the context of the global expansion of the relevance of energy supply security, we need to advance the discussions on nuclear energy – safe, clean and accessible energy for consumers and innovation in this area. The Romanian side endorses the development of the supply chain of the small-sized modular reactors, as well as the innovation in the area of technologies in the civil nuclear sector,” Ciuca is quoted as saying in the release.

Moreover, during the meeting with business people, Ciuca encouraged the South Korean companies interested in investing in the areas within the key-programmes from the Modernisation Fund and the PNRR, in projects on renewable energy sources. The PM also underscored the Romanian side’s interest in respect to the cooperation with the Republic of Korea in the liquefied natural gas area. Furthermore, he highlighted the openness of the Romanian side in the exchange of good practices and know-how in energy and in other areas with the South Korean side.

The Prime Minister also presented the advantages that the national economy offers investors, as Romania provides various investment opportunities, being one of the most dynamic and competitive economies of the EU and having a strategic geographic position, which can be used as an entry point to the single European market, to the Balkans or the Eastern Neighbourhood.

Ciuca explained that, in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war near the borders, the Romanian economy growth rate in 2022 remains one above expectations, and foreign direct investments will exceed the record level of 11 billion euro this year, according to the National Bank of Romania (BNR) estimates.

„These indicators prove the investors’ confidence in the prospects of long-term growth of the Romanian economy and in the opportunities offered by the European instruments – particularly the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) – which stimulates the fast-paced modernisation of the Romanian economy and business environment, especially on the infrastructure and green transition dimensions, areas in which the Republic of Korea excels,” the prime minister said.

Participating alongside the PM in the meeting with business people were a parliamentary delegation headed by Speaker Marcel Ciolacu, as well as Deputy PM and Transport Minister Sorin Grindeanu, Education Minister Ligia Deca, Research, Innovation and Digitisation Minister Sebastian Burduja, Economy Minister Florin Spataru, Energy Minister Virgil Popescu, National Defence Minister Angel Tilvar, Nuclearelectrica GM Cosmin Ghita.

The South Korean economy has become the tenth economy of the world (fourth in Asia), with a nominal GDP worth approximately 1,630 billion USD (2020). In 2021 the South Korean economy registered a 4 percent increase, owed mostly to the strong performance of exports (mostly those of semiconductors, cars and petrochemical products), the Government release mentions.

Agerpres