 At the end of his mandate in Romania, US ambassador to Bucharest Mark Gitenstein said he had a deep affection for Romania and Romanians whom he described as captivating, very intelligent and creative. Gittenstein told a private TV channel that Romania was the most beautiful country in Europe, although most Americans, many Europeans and even more Romanians are not aware of that. Asked to describe Romania’s economic situation against the backdrop of the global crisis, the US ambassador said Bucharest fared better than other capitals in the region.
Ambassador Mark Gittenstein said Romania was well positioned in the European context and has good future prospects. 2013 will be a difficult year not only due to domestic problems, but also to the broader situation in Europe. Ambassador Gitenstein pointed out that Romania’s sales markets are mainly European, and Europe is now facing a crisis. He said Romania was about to make remarkable progress thanks to reforms carried out so far and that he would like to see this progress completed. But for progress to be achieved the country needs stability, ambassador Gittenstein added.
The US official also pointed out that the stability of Romania’s national currency and the observance of the law had already encouraged several major companies to make important investments in Romania. One such example is the US carmaker Ford, which invested one billion dollars and continued to increase the production of the B-Max model at its production plant in Craiova, southern Romania.
Ambassador Gitenstein underlined that Romania had a naturally productive economy, thanks to its resources, the low costs and the talent of Romanians. In the US ambassador’s opinion, exports will increase, which is a positive thing. And if reforms continue, that will be very good for Romania because many young people will stay in the country, the ambassador argued.
On the other hand ambassador Gitenstein expressed his confidence that the new legislation regarding the Visa Waver program that could lead to the elimination of visas for Romanians would soon be approved by the US. Ambassador Gittenstein explained many visa applications are rejected because Romanians do not provide enough evidence of their connections to Romania and cannot convince consular employees that they have a family and properties here, leaving the impression that they want to go to the US to remain there for good. The US ambassador also said that the new visa legislation would not be voted this year, but expressed confidence that the law would be tabled again in 2013, with great chances to be voted in the future Congress.
|
2025-04-03
Print
Listen again