Prahova County continues to be a constant destination for official visits, including the heads of the diplomatic missions in Romania. Thus, the most recent trip to Ploiesti was made at the beginning of May, by the Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania in Romania.
On May 2, 2017, the Prahova Chamber of Commerce and Industry in cooperation with the Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Lithuania in Ploiesti, organized the visit of His Excellency Arvydas Pocius, the Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania in Romania, in Ploiesti, being accompanied by the Deputy Head of the Mission, Lina Kutkauskaite-Zilaite. The visit included a working meeting at the headquarter of the Prahova Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a visit at the Honorary Consulate of Lithuania in Ploiesti, as well as a meeting at the headquarter of the Prahova Prefect Institution, with the County Prefect, Madalina Lupea, and the public manager of the county – Fabioara Ionescu. At the meeting held at the Prahova Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the high officials held talks with the President of the Prahova institution, Aurelian Gogulescu; the issues that were subject of discussions referred to identifying concrete opportunities to intensify cooperation between Romania, namely Prahova, and Lithuania. “Last year, we organized an economic mission in Lithuania, exactly in this respect, to intensify the relationships between the two countries. I believe there are some fields we could develop. First of all, I am thinking at tourism, which could be an important component of our exchanges, but possible cooperation could also be in the food and wine industry, in the engineering, computers, industry” stated Aurelian Gogulescu, the President of the Prahova Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Thus, he hopes that the number of investors in Lithuania to Prahova will be extended, given that out of the more than 2000 foreign companies registered at the county level, currently only one company in the field of trade has Lithuanian capital. Welcoming his presence in Prahova, the Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania in Romania, Arvydas Pocius, said: “As the Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania, whenever I have the opportunity to send a message to the Lithuanians, either through various articles, or when I have meetings with Lithuanian business people, I always tell them that they are welcome in Romania, not only in the other European countries. I tell them to do business with the people in Romania, where there is much to be done, where there are many resources, people are excellent and there are plenty of facilities. I am very pleased that last year, a Romanian economic mission was carried out in Lithuania. It is a step to find new cooperation opportunities between the two countries.” In his turn, Ion Antonio Tache – the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Lithuania in Ploiesti, stated: “We hope tourism will be the first bridge between our countries. Also, we also do not exclude high technology, given that Lithuania is a country that has emphasized this field, especially since the 1990s.” At the end of the program, the Lithuanian guests visited the Clock Museum of Ploiesti, which is unique in Romania.
We mention that the Honorary Consulate of Lithuania in Ploiesti opened in April, 2013, being led by Ion Antonio Tache.
Lithuania is the largest of the three Baltic republics, with a population of 2.89 million people. On March 11, 1990, Lithuania became the first independent Soviet republic, and in 2004 it became a member of the EU and NATO. On August 26, 1991, Romania formally recognized the regaining of the state independence of the Republic of Lithuania, and on September 13, 1991 the diplomatic relations between the two countries were resumed. According to information made available by the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the main industrial branches in Lithuania are: machine tools, shipbuilding, woodworking, electronics and household appliances, textiles, oil refining, shipbuilding (small ships), processing agro-food products, chemical fertilizers, agricultural machinery, optical equipment, electronic components, computers, amber processing. In June 2016, Romanian exports totaled EUR 29.71 million (+ 5.87%), while imports from Lithuania amounted EUR 36.31 million (+22.61%). We mention that starting from January 1, 2007, Romanian citizens enjoy the same rights and obligations as citizens from other EU Member States, regarding the access to the Lithuanian labor market.
