The Minister of Labor and Social Solidarity, Simona Bucura-Oprescu, and the Bavarian State Minister of Family, Labor and Social Affairs, Ulrike Scharf, signed on Wednesday a Joint Declaration of Intent for cooperation in the field of social economy between Romania and the State of Bavaria of the Federal Republic of Germany.

According to a post on the Facebook page of the Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity [MMSS], the signing ceremony took place at the headquarters of the MMSS, in the presence of the ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Romania, Peer Gebauer.

Through this Joint Declaration of Intent, the two parties express their commitment to deepen cooperation in order to grow and promote the social economy, a vital sector for sustainable development and inclusion.

„I am glad that you are present today at the Ministry of Labour. It is a guarantee that we will continue the good things already started together. It is important to coordinate our employment policies, we must invest more both in training and in improving skills. The declaration signed today takes into account the European Action Plan for the Social Economy adopted by the European Commission and supports the development of favorable framework conditions for the social economy both in Romania and in Bavaria. The signing of this Declaration represents an important step in strengthening bilateral relations and in the development of new partnerships to support the social economy, thus contributing to the creation of fairer and more inclusive societies. My objective is for at least one percent of Romania’s GDP to be generated by the activities of social enterprises,” declared Minister Simona Bucura-Oprescu, quoted in the post.

The signing of the Declaration comes as a result of the June joint meeting of the Governments of Romania and the State of Bavaria, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Romanian-Bavarian institutional cooperation.

„It is an honor to be here. The joint declaration signed today will bring us even closer. We already have joint projects started for a long time and we can expand our cooperation”, said Minister Ulrike Scharf.

Among the cooperation actions included in this initiative are the exchange of best practices, meetings between representatives of both countries, as well as the promotion of social entrepreneurship.

According to the MMSS, the discussions on Wednesday also focused on the labor force deficit, the strengthening of collaboration on the security line at the workplace and the rights of employees, as well as the recognition of social security rights.

Among the German states, Bavaria represents the most important investor and commercial partner for Romania, with a volume of commercial exchanges of around 8.37 billion euros, mainly targeting the fields of car construction, parts and components from the automotive industry, IT.

Over 200,000 Romanians work and live in Bavaria.

Romanians constitute the 4th largest community of foreigners in Germany, after Turks, Ukrainians and Syrians, to which are added several hundred thousand natives from Romania who hold German citizenship. 909,793 people are in the statistical record of Romanian citizens officially registered with domicile/residence in Germany.

AGERPRES