U.S. Ambassador to Romania Nicholas Taubman recently spoke to a group in Atlanta, Georgia about investing in Romania. An excerpt of his speech can be found below:
- Good Morning. I am delighted to be here…to share with you my experience as the U.S. Ambassador to one of the most dynamic and fascinating markets in Europe, a country that has become the hottest market for Foreign Direct Investment throughout the entire region.
- Romania is often referred to as “the best kept secret in Europe” and now - the European Union. I trust that after our brief remarks this afternoon, you’ll understand why, as the U.S. Ambassador and the founder and former CEO of what is now a Fortune 500 company, I would urge you to carefully consider Romania as your next market, if you are not there already (Advance Auto Parts).
- I’ve played witness to tremendous changes in Romania in my time as Ambassador. Romania has emerged from the long, dark night of communism and has made incredible progress in the last few years. One can sense the casting off of the old ways and a rediscovery of latent possibilities.
- Romania's recent achievements are impressive. They include NATO membership in 2004, EU membership in 2007, and eight years of solid economic growth that have refashioned the country into a modern democracy and a market economy.
- Romania is a country of enormous promise and potential with a marketplace of 22 million consumers. It is rich in agricultural lands, energy and mineral resources, and human capital, with a well-educated and productive labor force. I’ve been impressed by the creative, entrepreneurial spirit of the people. Their talent, skill, and ambition are already turning Romania into a key player in the region and beyond.
- Romanians can be found in the boardrooms of major corporations from Silicon Valley to Wall Street, as well as at the helm of operations in Romania. The country's human talent has allowed major multinationals to move quickly to reliance on domestic managers, rather than expensive foreign staff. Romanians are known for having both outstanding engineering and language skills. People are beginning to talk about the so-called “Return to Romania,” which is a very encouraging sign. I’ve heard plenty of stories about some of Romania’s brightest, including many who left under very trying circumstances, returning home to establish companies and capitalize on their Western know-how, some after more than two decades. A well-known American executive recruiting firm tells me they’ve been quite successful at placing Romanian-born executives in positions back in their home country.
- One of the Romania’s great success stories can be found in the Information Technology sector. Not only is it recognized as one of the strongest in the region, boasting 85 percent American products and continuing to attract high-levels of investment; Romania’s own innovations have become globally recognized products. The legislation governing the sector has served to encourage investors and helped stem the so-called “brain drain” experienced in other sectors. I recently read that the Economist Intelligence Unit ranks Romania ahead of India, Russia, and China in terms of IT sector competitiveness (Impressive!).
- On the occasion of the inauguration of Microsoft’s Global Technology Support Center in Bucharest a year ago, I asked Bill Gates “why Romania?” His response was simple - great geographic location, great engineers, and great foreign language speakers. They say that after English, one of the languages heard most often at Microsoft’s Seattle headquarters is Romanian, spoken by the 300 plus Romanians employed there. Bill Gates knows a thing or two about the war for talent…
- But Microsoft is not alone. Leading U.S. and European companies have moved eagerly into the Romanian market. Airline connections throughout Europe and beyond are proliferating. In fact, Georgia’s own Delta Airlines made it that much easier to bridge the Atlantic last June when they inaugurated their direct flight to JFK. It's amazing to think that Foreign Direct Investment in Romania from the U.S. and Europe is up over 600% since 2000!
- In a few short weeks, Bucharest will be in the world spotlight as dozens of foreign leaders, including President George Bush, converge there for the NATO Summit. For this, the people and leaders of Romania have good reason to be proud.
- What can you expect to find upon arrival to Bucharest? A city bustling with activity, framed by construction cranes and anchored by bumper to bumper traffic, serving as testimony to the city’s exponential growth. In fact, Romania now ranks first in the EU in construction works - boasting an annual growth rate of 33 percent. You could make a case that the construction crane should be the new "national bird" of Romania.
- But the explosive growth is not limited to the capital city. The fact that the investment locations are decentralized is one of the attributes that makes Romania so attractive. Constanta, known as the “eastern gateway of Europe” is home to the second largest port in Europe in terms of capacity, and still has potential to grow; Iasi, Timisoara and Cluj are recognized as industrial and IT hot spots, experiencing some of the fastest growth rates in the country. Ploiesti and Craivoa are becoming automotive hubs, with Ford Motor Company slated to open its largest new plant in 36 years in Craiova.
- Cluj is attracting plenty of investment and media interest. You may have noticed the hoopla surrounding Nokia’s new mobile-phone plant. I saw first hand what the excitement was about when I visited Cluj last November to check on the progress of the Transylvania Motorway, a 3.2 billion dollar project that will nearly triple the amount of motorway in Romania. The four-lane road, the biggest project in Europe, will cut travel time to Hungary in half, making it much easier to get your products to the major European markets. And you know the road will be quality, because Bechtel is building it. This road is drawing investment to the region already, and it's not even done. St. Louis-based Emerson is set to join Nokia with a new Cluj plant in the near future. The list goes on and on, and so could I, but I won’t as I want to leave time for your questions.
- I’ll end with this. The more I travel the globe, the more I come to realize that we need to start focusing on our similarities as people rather than our differences. In the case of Romania that is a pretty simple task as our two countries and peoples have much in common. In fact, Ambassador Vierita even shares a birthday with the United States! He is in for quite a surprise when he celebrates his first birthday party this 4th of July in our nation’s capital. From my own experience, I have found Romanians to be warm, open and friendly. Romanians are hard workers and we both believe in working hard to make our lives better. I believe that the time to build on success is while you're successful. For Romania, that time is now. It should be for you as well. Thank you.
Share This
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Global American
Feb 9th, 2008
America's tax dollars hard at work:
- The Energy Department is subsidizing two Russian nuclear institutes that are building important parts of a reactor in Iran whose construction the United States spent years trying to stop, according to a House committee.
- The institutes, both in Nizhny Novgorod, gave American officials copies of sales presentations that listed the Bushehr reactor, which Russia has agreed to fuel, as one of their projects. One institute is providing control systems, including control room equipment, and the other, hundreds of pumps and ventilation fans.
- The Energy Department is subsidizing the institutes under the Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention, a program set up in 1994, after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The program was intended to prevent newly impoverished scientists and their institutions from selling expertise to states or terrorist groups that want nuclear weapons. (Doesn't Iran fall into the category of a "state or terrorist groups" that we want to prevent from obtaining nuclear weapons?!?)
- Rep. John Dingell, chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, said in a telephone interview, that the State Department has accused Iran of using the Bushehr reactor as a cover for obtaining nuclear technology useful in a weapons program. And, he said, “We’ve got a bunch of federal laws that impose sanctions on U.S. companies that develop Iran’s oil.”
But under the nonproliferation program, he said, “We’ve got U.S. money providing assistance to help develop a reactor that we’re busy denouncing.” (Duh.)
Boneheads.
Perhaps if America's federal government weren't quite so large, such "oversights" wouldn't happen (or wouldn't take years to uncover)…
Share This
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Global American
Feb 7th, 2008
Amazing.
If you need a reminder of the type of enemy we are facing, the terrorists in Iraq have now resorted to strapping dynamite & ball bearings to mentally-disabled women and sending them into crowded animal markets to be blown up remotely by cell phone.
Sick.
As an aside, where are NOW and PETA when you need them?!?
Share This
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Global American
Feb 1st, 2008
Coupled with a non-united Europe and the fading influence of the US State Department 
in Eastern Europe, Vladimir Putin strikes again today on the energy front by securing a deal on the South Stream gas pipeline with Bulgaria, one of his closest allies and also dubbed "Russia's trojan horse in the EU".
During his final visit as Russia's President to a foreign country, Putin managed to get Bulgaria on board for his pet project: The Nabucco pipeline. This was accomplished even though the South Eastern European country is also a partner in an US-EU backed project designed to be an alternative to Russian pipelines across Eastern Europe and to Russia itself as a gas supplier.
Despite EU optimism, Russia's move is clear: the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan precedent must not be repeated. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan gas project was a U.S.-led pipeline that bypassed Russia and brought oil from Azerbaidjan directly to the Mediterranean via Turkey. This project single-handedly helped Azerbaidjan and neighboring Georgia gain a degree of autonomy from Russia's sphere of influence.
Having witnessed the power of the pipeline, Russia has set its sights on the oil & gas-rich Caspian countries. As a result, these same former members of the Soviet Union are also becoming more dependent on Russia's state-controlled Gazprom monopoly in an overt attempt by Russian-controlled Gazprom to bring the "lost countries" of the Warsaw Pact back into the sphere of Russian influence.
Reuters summarizes Gazprom's expansion in Central and Eastern Europe. However, Reuters fails to note Russia's recent coup d'etat in Austria, where Putin secured a deal concerning the termination of the previously-mentioned Nabucco pipeline. The termination point of this pipeline in Austria is at the Baumgarten terminal and is based on the principle that "if we can't own the pipeline, we should own the faucet".
Such moves are to be expected from Russia's Gazprom. Here is a list of Russia's latest energy dealings:
- BULGARIA
- Gazprom supplies all of the Balkan country's natural gas and transits gas via its territory to Greece and Turkey.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Jan. 18 secured Bulgarian participation in the 10 billion euro ($14.66 billion) South Stream gas pipeline.The project, proposed by Italy's Eni as well as Gazprom, is Moscow's challenge to a rival Nabucco plan to pipe Central Asian gas to the European Union and reduce the bloc's reliance on Russian energy. Gazprom is also interested in buying a stake in Bulgaria's state gas monopoly Bulgargaz if the government goes ahead with plans to list a minority stake on the bourse. Gazprom is also reportedly interested in acquiring the Sofia heating utility plant.
- Bulgaria has picked Atomstroyexport, controlled by Gazprom, to build its new 4 billion euro power plant of Belene.
- CZECH REPUBLIC
- Czech natural gas firm Vemex has signed a deal with Gazprom unit Gazexport on gas deliveries to the Czech Republic which bypass the former Czech monopoly.
- ESTONIA, LATVIA, LITHUANIA
- Gazprom wants to build gas storage in the former Soviet Union's Baltic states, but it is seeking alternative pipeline routes to avoid dependence on traditional transit states.
- In particular, it wants to build a pipeline under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, which would bypass Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as Poland and Belarus.
- The planned pipeline is to be built by a consortium, Nord Stream, majority-owned by Gazprom and also Germany's BASF and E.ON
- GREECE
- Putin said last month that Greece wanted to double imports of Russian gas after 2016. He said Greece supported Gazprom's plans to build the controversial South Stream pipeline (a rival to the aforementioned other Russian pipeline: Nabucco).
- HUNGARY
- Under a deal announced on July 13, 2006, Gazprom gained stakes in Hungarian gas and power companies in return for giving Germany's E.ON a share in the Siberian Yuzhno-Russkoye field.
- Gazprom and Hungary's MOL have formed a company to study the proposed extension of the Blue Stream gas pipeline, which takes Russian gas to northern Turkey.
- SERBIA
- In December, Russia proposed to Belgrade a controversial energy pact that would potentially see Serbia included in Gazprom's South Stream gas pipeline.
- In return Gazprom would get a 51 percent stake in Serb oil monopoly NIS for 400 million euros. But the proposal has drawn fire from one faction of Serbia's ruling coalition, which argues the offer undervalues NIS.
- Analysts believe nationalist Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica wants to accept the offer, to reward Russia for backing Serbia's efforts to block the independence of its breakaway Kosovo province by threatening to use its U.N. veto.
- SLOVAKIA
- Gazprom owns 49 percent of the gas network SPP together with Germany's Ruhrgas (a subsidiary of E.On) and Gaz de France.
- TURKEY
- Gazprom supplies three quarters of Turkey's gas via southern Europe and by a pipeline under the Black Sea, which it jointly owns with Eni.
- It wants to buy Turkish gas distribution firms is also seeking direct deals with Turkish utilities with an eye towards supplying gas to Israel.
Putin's Russia understands that energy is the lifeblood of an economy. Chavez's Venezuela understands that energy is the lifeblood of an economy. Why do the largest economies in the world, the EU & the US, not do more to secure their own lifebloods?
Share This
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
The New European
Jan 18th, 2008
Just released: "Cold Waves", a great documentary by the Romanian filmmaker Alexandru Solomon 
(41 years old) about what Radio Free Europe meant for the listeners in the Communist block, especially Romanians. It was the only trustworthy medium in a sea of Communist propaganda. It was also highly risky to listen to it. The Secret Police (Securitate) and the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu himself considered this radio station as the main enemy in the decreasing popularity of his regime. The Securitate had about 800 people hired to follow the RFE journalists abroad and their listeners in Romania. They constantly tried to silence the RFE voices. Starting with hostile propaganda on the lines of "Radio Free Europe is a CIA propaganda machine" (despite the fact that since the late 60s the CIA was not funding it anymore) and culminating with terrorist attack carried out by Carlos the Jackal against the Munich-based radio station. Three of the directors of the Romanian RFE section died of cancer and one of them suspected that he might have also been exposed to radiation. Although there were no traces of radiation in the building, the memoirs of the former Securitate-agent Ion Mihai Pacepa (Red Horizons) speaks of a portable device that could irradiate targets. Ceausescu even found a nickname for it, "Radu". Since the Litvinenko case, this theory might be more credible than before, but there is hardly any evidence to support it…
Share This
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
The New European
Dec 1st, 2007
Loading ...