Romanian companies need to become more active in markets outside the European Union (EU), while at the same time we want to encourage companies from Latin America to view Romania as an investment destination and as a gateway to the EU, president of the Bucharest Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIB) Iuliu Stocklosa told a specialist forum on Thursday.

'We want Romanian companies to become more active in non-EU markets. We need to be present where there are interesting markets, to better understand the business environments there and to create direct communication channels with local partners. At this point, we want to encourage companies from Latin America to view Romania as an investment destination and as a gateway to the EU, given our position in the eastern part of the European Union. Also, and this is very important, through the Black Sea and the Port of Constanta we have very, very good connections with all EU countries, given the Danube-Main-Rhine Canal, which can reach northern Europe. The Americas are a diverse economic space, with different markets, sectors and regulatory environments. At the same time, they offer significant opportunities in areas such as industry, agriculture, food processing, energy, infrastructure, transport, digital services, technology and innovation. Our role as a Chamber of Commerce is to support companies in navigating this diversity, identifying the right partners and turning general interest into concrete business opportunities,' Stocklosa said.

According to data presented by the CCIB president, Romania's capital accounts for more than 26.4% of the country's foreign trade.

'The Bucharest Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also known as CCIB, represents and promotes the interests of the business community in Romania's capital. To give you a few figures, Bucharest is the third-largest city in the region, after Istanbul and Athens. Bucharest accounts for more than 26.4% of Romania's foreign trade, 19% of the country's total exports, 32% of total imports, 44% of companies with foreign direct investment capital in Romania and, last but not least, the most important figure: 25.5% of Romania's GDP. We support the internationalisation of Romanian companies and this is a very important area of our activity. In this regard, last year we opened four CCIB representative offices in Brussels, London, Chicago and Calgary, and more recently we inaugurated new offices in Colombo, New Delhi and Tokyo. Looking ahead, we are also considering expanding this network into Latin America by establishing representative offices in several Latin American countries. For us, it is a natural step,' Iuliu Stocklosa stressed.

The official also raised the EU-Mercosur trade agreement, which he described as being very important for both markets.

'If we are talking about the new EU-Mercosur trade agreement, it is very important both for Latin America and for the European market, given that the EU has more than 450 million citizens. This is a good point at which we can now play a practical role. Agreements can only create frameworks, but businesses need information, contacts and trusted partners to make use of this Mercosur framework and beyond. Our role is to strengthen relations between businesspeople in Romania and those in Latin American countries,' Iuliu Stocklosa said.

Representatives of the business community and diplomatic missions from seven Latin American countries are participating in the Doing Business with Latin America Forum in Bucharest on Thursday, an event dedicated to business opportunities, investment and the development of partnerships between Romanian companies and those from Latin America. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Daniel Badea; EN - writing by: Adina Panaitescu)