Asia-Pacific Initiative – Partnership for the knowledge economy

The National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics - ICI Bucharest co-organized the Asia-Pacific Initiative - Partnership for Knowledge Economy event, dedicated to the exchange of views on the potential of developing Romania's relations with the countries from the Asia-Pacific region, especially from an economic perspective. The action was also hosted by MAE in collaboration with Idea Factory Think Tank and the Romanian Exporters' Association.

Regarding the importance of the event, Minister Teodor Meleșcanu affirmed: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is honoured to host this meeting, which takes place in a very timely context, given by the special interest of the Romanian government which aims to revive and expand the Romanian cooperation with the Asia-Pacific countries, Africa and Latin America. We hope that today's event, a premiere at the MFA level, will facilitate shaping new ideas, proposals, initiatives and ways of action in this direction".

"In the context of the rapid progress of globalization and the new interdependencies of the contemporary world, it is the time to diversify our cooperation with external partners, the Asia-Pacific region being one of the priority areas for action. The region has gone through complex developments in recent years, both in terms of severe security challenges (the largest in the Korean Peninsula), and the continuous economic growth of the region at an average annual rate of over 5%, almost double the global average," added the head of Romanian diplomacy.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs referred to the developments in this area, in addition to the firm pace of Romania's economic development and the strengthening of its international profile, elements that stimulate the necessary conditions for a stronger presence of our country in the region, both bilaterally and multilaterally, including the international efforts to identify solutions to the challenges faced by the region. In this respect, he stressed that Romania is keen to capitalize as efficiently as possible, the various economic and non-economic opportunities for cooperation that currently characterize the Asia-Pacific region.

He also noted the consistent role of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the diplomatic efforts aimed at promoting the economic interests of Romania, both from the perspective of attracting investments and capitalizing the opportunities on foreign markets:

"Through an active political and diplomatic dialogue with Romania's foreign partners, we ensure a collaborative climate in the bilateral relations, aimed at facilitating and stimulating the economic cooperation as well. At the same time, this continuous dialogue also conveys important political, encouraging signals both to the Romanian business community and to the partner countries, oriented towards engaging in joint projects and diversifying economic exchanges."

Regarding the opportunities offered by niche domains and by those in which Romania's excellence is affirmed, such as information technology or cyber security, Minister Teodor Meleșcanu highlighted the importance of working towards the implementation of modern technology in order to raise the e-Governance level in Romania. He considers that a knowledge-based economy is a vital tool in a time when rapid access to economic information can make a difference between a considerable gain and missing opportunities. In his speech, the head of Romanian diplomacy also referred to the fact that the development of EU-Asia relations is also an important part of Romania's agenda for the presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019.

Minister Teodor Meleșcanu concluded that in order to promote these ambitious directions of action, Romanian authorities need a strong, open and efficient partnership with the private sector, the business environment and with all the other relevant institutions, which ensure the vital components of Romania's presence abroad, as well as with the representatives of the Asia-Pacific states in Bucharest.

The event was also attended by the minister of Business environment, commerce and entrepreneurship - Mr. Ilan Laufer, the President of the Romanian Competition Council - Mr. Bogdan Chiriţoiu, the President of the Romanian Space Agency - Mr. Marius-Ioan Piso, the Rector of Politehnica University of Bucharest - Mr. Mihnea Costoiu, the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania - Mr. Mihai Daraban, all being accredited Romanian ambassadors for the Asia-Pacific countries, as well as representatives of partner institutions, both from the business environment and academia.

The moderator of the event was the State Secretary for Global Bilateral Affairs, Mrs. Monica Gheorghiță. ICI Bucharest was represented by Dr. Victor Vevera, Technical Director.