The Romanian Embassy in Australia on Wednesday organised a meeting on cooperation opportunities between Romania and Australia in the areas of IT and artificial intelligence.

The event, hosted by the diplomatic mission, brought together more than 20 participants, including representatives of the Australian Federal Parliament, government institutions (Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, AUSTRADE - Australian Investment Promotion Agency, Australian Capital Territory Government), academia (Australian National University and Australian Academy of Science), experts in artificial intelligence and technologies representatives of companies and business organizations (UiPath, Airbus, Mandala, Deloitte and the Australian Chamber of Commerce), as well as the United States Embassy in Australia.

At the opening of the event, the Romanian Ambassador to Australia, Radu Gabriel Safta, presented the particularities and successes of the IT sector in Romania, emphasising the fact that the country has become a regional hub of excellence in the field. Both the role of Bucharest as a host of international organisations in the field (European Cybersecurity Industrial, Technological and Research Competence Center - ECCC and the Euro-Atlantic Centre for Resilience) and the innovation capacity demonstrated by companies and IT specialists in Romania were highlighted.

Amid global challenges represented by disinformation, cyber-attacks and hybrid threats, the head of the diplomatic mission underlined the opportunities for bilateral cooperation between Romania and Australia.

One of the main features of the new acceleration of technological evolution is the removal of geographical barriers, which is both an opportunity and a challenge. During the last two years there have been direct contacts between institutional representatives and IT specialists from Romania and Australia that have facilitated the exploration of new cooperation formats, and today's event represents a new step towards making the necessary connections between the governmental, academic and private environments in the field to capitalise on these opportunities and reduce the inherent risks. Romania and Australia are well positioned to expand their cooperation in the fields of IT, cybersecurity, countering disinformation and the responsible use of artificial intelligence, ambassador Radu Gabriel Safta is quoted as saying in a press release issued by the embassy.

The Romanian IT and artificial intelligence expertise was highlighted by the participation in the meeting of the representatives of UiPath, the first private unicorn company established in Romania, currently listed on the New York Stock Exchange and with a market capitalisation of approximately USD 6.82 billion dollars. UiPath has recently expanded its presence in Australia by opening an office in Canberra, in addition to its existing offices in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney, with the aim of strengthening its position as a global leader in the field of robotic process automation.

The Romanian Embassy in Canberra will continue its efforts to support and develop bilateral cooperation opportunities in the field of IT and related technologies by promoting locally the centres of excellence in the Romanian institutional and entrepreneurial environment. AGERPRES (RO - editing by: Mariana Ionescu; EN - writing by: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu)