PRESS RELEASE
On October 16, 2018, Secretary of State Paula Pîrvănescu participated in the “China Investment Forum 2018” in Prague, Czech Republic, organized in the margins of the China-Central and Eastern Europe Cooperation Mechanism.
The Romanian dignitary’s speech reiterated Romania’s commitment to supporting the projects developed in the margins of the China + 16 cooperation mechanism. In this context, a special emphasis was placed on consolidating Romania’s position within the “New Silk Roads” initiative, by capitalizing on the traditional relationship with this part of Asia as a pivotal regional element in the development of the project.
On this occasion, State Secretary Pîrvănescu had a series of official meetings with representatives of the Government of the Czech Republic, the Czech-Chinese Chamber of Cooperation, CITIC Group (China), PPF Group (Czech Republic), Bank of China, and the Czech Republic Trade Chamber. At the same time, State Secretary Pîrvănescu held a round of talks with Silvana Jirotková, President of CzechInvest – Investment and Business Development Agency, to start joint trade and investment partnerships between Romania and the Czech Republic.
The event topics were also focused on areas that could boost multilateral dialogue and regional cooperation with the People’s Republic of China, with a view to boosting bilateral trade and Chinese investment. Also, the directions of interest for the development of economic relations in the “16+1” cooperation format and its “New Silk Roads” initiative were also discussed.
Background information
“China Investment Forum 2018” was held in Prague, Czech Republic, on October 15-17, 2018.
The “New Silk Roads” (“Silk Road Economic Belt” and “Maritime Silk Road”) initiative is aimed, at connectivity and cooperation between the People’s Republic of China and the Eurasian countries in the first place, but also with the countries on the whole route linking China and Europe.
The “16+1” format is an initiative of the People’s Republic of China aimed at intensifying and expanding cooperation with 11 Member States of the European Union and 5 Balkan countries in the fields of investment, transport, finance, science, education and culture. Under the initiative, China has defined three potential areas of priority for economic cooperation, namely infrastructure, high technologies and green technologies.
Ministry for Business Environment, Commerce and Entrepreneurship
Press Office