By Reaven D’Souza
Managing Editor
Romania and Kuwait relations go back almost 57 years and have many common interests. As a very important partner to Kuwait in the European Union, Romania has stood by Kuwait in difficult times and has taken this relationship forward with continuous engagement. As Romania celebrates its 102 National Day, Ambassador of Romania H E Daniel Tanase met The Times Managing Editor for an exclusive interview.
Can you please tell us about the great Union Day of Romania
First of all, on the occasion of the National Day of Romania on 1 December, allow me to welcome the readers of The Times Kuwait, one of the leading publications in this blessed land of Arabian Peninsula. The National Day is of great historical importance for Romania because 102 years ago, on 1 of December 1918, Transilvania united with the Kingdom of Romania. The year 1918 marked the unity of all Romanians under one country.
I remember with immense pleasure a concert held in Kuwait on 1 December 2018 in the magnificent building of Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Centre, a hub of culture in the region. Art and in particular music is a powerful instrument to connect people. My gratitude goes to the Diwan Amiri, whose support was key in this remarkable performance.
Kuwait and Romania have enjoyed excellent relations can you please elaborate
Romania and the State of Kuwait have a longstanding relationship of 57 years. Among the many moments of our friendship, what comes to my mind as being especially significant is the contribution of Romania, as part of the international coalition in 1990 -1991, to liberate Kuwait. Our best Romanian engineers also helped to put out the fire at the oil wells in the aftermath of the liberation.
We continue to work together to further develop our relations in all aspects: political, economical, social and cultural. We cooperate in the international arena, based on our mutual interest in reinforcing multilateralism. I praise the work of Kuwait especially in the humanitarian field, and congratulate the Kuwaiti diplomacy for its effective work as nonpermanent member of the UN Security Council in 2018 -2019.
Romania and Kuwait are also working together to further develop the ties between EU and GCC. To give just an example, under the Romanian EU Presidency, Kuwait hosted an EU–GCC Business Forum titled ‘An Oasis of Opportunities’, in March 2019, which opened new ways of cooperation between the two regional blocks.
What are the areas that Kuwait and Romania have cooperation especially in trade and investment
Our bilateral cooperation is steadily increasing in areas like Information Technology and Communication, as well as in commercial exchanges. We held a Romania–Kuwait Business Forum in 2018 that was hosted in Kuwait City and was presided over by the Romanian Prime Minister.
Consequently, the President of the Romanian Chamber of Trade and Industry visited Kuwait in 2019, in order to explore the way forward, together with the Kuwaiti business community.
During your tenure you have enhanced relations and there have been several bilateral visits, can you please tell us the important ones
The Prime-Minister of Romania paid a visit to Kuwait in October 2018 to give a high level political impetus to our bilateral ties. The fruitful talks with the Prime-Minister of Kuwait resulted in a growing cooperation between the two sides. Subsequently, our Minister of Economy came to Kuwait City to meet his counterpart and present to the business community new projects of cooperation.
Even now, under the difficult conditions of the Covid -19 pandemic, our bilateral dialogue continues through video conferences. We recently held a VTC consultation between our Foreign Affairs Ministries.
Can you tell us how Romania sees Kuwait in the region vis-a-vis peace and stability
Romania and Kuwait are both promoters of peace, dialogue and stability in their respective regions. Romania is actively fulfilling its term as Chair of the Black Sea Economic Organization, as well as of the Community of Democracies. Kuwait is playing a very important role as mediator in the Gulf. Romania fully supports the role of Kuwait as mediator in the region, with a view to promoting peace and stability.
We also support the active contribution of Kuwait to Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI), a regional frame of cooperation between the North-Atlantic Alliance and Gulf countries. We congratulate Kuwait for the work done through the ICI Regional Center. The Secretary General of the Alliance participated in the events hosted by Kuwait in December 2019 to mark this anniversary.
Are there Kuwaiti investments in Romania and do you see future Kuwaiti investments in your country and in what areas
We welcome the Kuwaiti investments in Romania, a country with an important economic potential, with full access to the European market. We invite the Kuwaiti investors to join our development projects in infrastructure, health and tourism.
Before the pandemic, Romania registered one of the highest growth rates in Europe, up to 7 percent, besides being one of the most attractive countries for foreign investors. Based on national and European funds, Romania is ready to implement an economic relaunch plan.
Do you have any figure for the previous years on the number of tourists visiting Romania from Kuwait
On the occasion of the our Prime-Minister’s visit in 2018, a bilateral agreement was signed to boost tourism between the countries. Romania offers a great variety of tourist activities, in the mountains or at seaside, in health resorts or cultural world values, winter or summer. We encourage our Kuwaiti friends to discover Romania, one of the best preserved cultural and natural environments.
I would like to mention that Romania is in favor of a Visa Waiver between EU and Kuwait.
Can you tell us the trade volume between the two countries
The bilateral trade reached USD41 million in 2019, mainly by Romanian exports of engines and machinery parts, food and agriculture products. As a piece of information, the Kuwaitis today enjoy the Romanian sheep meat available in the local market, due to the joint efforts to diversify our trade.
Is there anything else you would like to add
I would like to praise the work of late Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah for the benefit of Kuwaiti people, as well as a Humanitarian Leader.
It gives me distinct pleasure to convey, both personally and in my capacity as Ambassador of Romania, to His Highness Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Amir of the State of Kuwait, my warmest wishes of good health, happiness and success, as well as to the high authorities of the State of Kuwait. I also extend my best wishes for peace and prosperity to the friendly Kuwaiti people.