The visit made by Rumanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos at the invitation of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has marked a milestone in bilateral relations between Vietnam and Rumania. The visit also means that the two countries are determined to explore maximum cooperation potential in the future.
As a European country with a long lasting history, Rumania has an area of more than 238,000 sq. km and a population of 20.1 million. The ancestors of the modern Rumanians were Dacians, who were believed to settle down their lives in the land of the current Rumania in the second Millennium BC. However, King Burebitsta was the one who united Dacian tribes into the first-ever kingdom of Dacia more than 2000 years ago. Rumania is now a member of the European Union (EU) and member of the North Atlantic Treaty organization (NATO).
Rumania is a beautiful medium-scale country in Europe that has much potential for development. In 1980, the country started its economic reform toward market economy. In the first 10 years of the reform, the economy met many difficulties, experiencing high inflation and high unemployment rates. Since 2000, the country has enjoyed good economic growth. Its GDP increased 8% in 2008. But later, the Rumanian economy was hardly hit by the global economic and financial crisis. The number of unemployed rose again and its budget deficit was high.
Against this backdrop, the country had to carry out an “austerity policy” and asked the international community for an aid package of EUR 20 billion. The economy shrank by nearly 8% and 1.2% in 2009 and 2010, respectively. But it has recovered and gained growth since 2011. Rumania’s economic growth in 2015 reached 3.4% while the unemployment rate and inflation were low. The country’s major agricultural products include wheat, buckwheat, beet, potato, sunflower seeds, grapes, eggs and lamb while its main industrial products are electrical equipment, garment and textile, leather footwear, machinery, automobile, gas, petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals.
Rumania is familiar to Vietnamese people. Rumania was one of the countries that first established diplomatic relations with Vietnam in 1950. Since then, the two countries continuously bolsteredbilateral friendly relations. Even after the country changed its political system in December 1989, the two countries kept developing their traditional ties and multi-facetted cooperation. The two sides coordinate closely with each other in regional and international forums.
After 1990, Vietnam and Rumania signed a number of deals, creating a legal framework for bilateralcooperation in the new period. In general, two-way trade between the two countries increased stably in recent years. Vietnam exports coffee, seafood, pepper, garment, leather footwear and computer parts to Rumania while importing chemicals, fertilizers, building materials, plastic materials, oil drilling equipment, and wooden products from the country.
Since 2010, Rumania has been on the list of the major Vietnamese seafood exporters with an average export of 12,000 tons of seafood per year. Nevertheless, the potential for economic and trade cooperation between the two countries still remain large.
One of the highlights in bilateral cooperation between the two countries is education and training. In 1995, Vietnam and Rumania signed an agreement on cultural, scientific, education and sport cooperation. Accordingly, Rumania annually grants 10 scholarships to Vietnamese graduate and postgraduate students to study in the country. The two sides also signed a cooperation program on education and training in the 2013-2016 period, during the visit of Rumanian Secretary of State for Education to Vietnam in 2013. In 2006, the Rumanian Government founded a program on scholarship provision for PhD candidates from members of the Francophone, including Vietnam. In October 2006, PetroVietnam and Petroconsult of Rumania signed a contract on personnel training cooperation and pilot operation of the Vietnamese oil refinery complex of Dung Quat. Under the contract, 60 Vietnamese technical specialists were sent to Rumania to study for a year and 56 Rumanian experts came to Vietnam to work at the refinery complex during its pilot operation. During 2003-09, Rumania also trained 35 Vietnamese engineers in oil industry and some 50 other Vietnamese students are studying in Rumania.
There is a community of Vietnamese nationals in Rumania. Some 500 Vietnamese nationals in the country mainly trade garments in Dragon Trading Center in the Capital City of Bucharest. The overseas Vietnamese community in Rumania actively contributes to the local socio-economic development and look to their homeland.
The visit of the Rumanian Prime Minister to Vietnam is believed to be a strong engine to boostbilateral relations and cooperation between the two countries in the future, particularly in trade, investment, education and training, science and technology, energy and defense.
During the visit, the two sides are expected to exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual concern.
The visit is hoped by both sides to bring practical outcomes for bilateral ties and cooperation as well as benefits to the two nations.
Source : Vietmaz – Thu Nguyen
Key words : Rumanian Prime Minister’s visit, marks a milestone, in bilateral relations.
