On the occasion of the official talks, His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani expressed the interest of the Qatari businessmen to invest in Romania . The fields of interest the head of the state of Qatar mentioned were tourism and banking services. The president of Romania and the Emir of the State of Qatar discussed about the possibility of transporting natural liquefied gas from Qatar to Romania , with a view to achieving one terminal in the port of Constanta .
Likewise, His Highness the Emir of the State of Qatar expressed his wish that a Romanian-Qatari business forum be organized in Bucharest , similar to the one in Doha , so that the businessmen in Qatar should better know the investments Romania is offering. Henceforth, in the framework of such a forum, at the level of experts, the way how to achieve a terminal for natural liquefied gas should be analyzed.
In the meeting between the president of Romania and the head of the state of Qatar the issue of the cartoons with prophet Mohamed, published in the European media, was also dealt with. In this context, president Basescu pointed out that the Romanian press dealt with this issue in a responsible manner, avoiding publishing those cartoons. „Respecting the freedom of expression and the freedom of the press, as fundamental pillars of democracy, does not imply hurting the beliefs of some other citizens or communities”, said the president of the country. The head of the Romanian state also had a meeting with the president of the Consultative Council of Qatar, Mohamed Bin Mubarak Al Kholaifi .
This very day, the president of Romani opened the works of the Romanian-Qatari business Council. In the speech held on this occasion, president Basescu invited the Qatari businessmen to look at Romania as “a friend, a business opportunity and a gate towards the European Union”, underlining the fact that our country can be very attractive for the business community in Qatar .
„I consider that Romania is now the best place for foreign investments”, said the head of state, reviewing the advantages the Qatari businessmen investing in our country can have. In this context, president Basescu reminded of the benefits the flat tax has brought about and of our country's legislation regarding the investments, compatible with the one of the European Union. The president of the country pointed out that what Romania can now offer is a well-qualified labor force and a business environment less and less affected by corruption. At the same time, the president of Romania enumerated for the businessmen in Qatar the propitious fields for investments our country has. Thus, the head of state referred to the car and wood industries, to tourism, transport and mining and refinery sector. At the same time, the president recalled the constant economic growth rate Romania has scored in the last years. The head of state appreciated, in context, that Romania 's status as future EU member represents one more reason for the attractiveness of our country for foreign investors.
President Basescu also spoke, during the meeting, about the investment opportunities Romania is offering in food industry, mentioning that the foreign investors in our country that have already chosen this field are very satisfied. In particular, the president also referred to the ecological agriculture, showing that, in comparison to other European states, Romania has the largest land surface (approximately 4,5 million ha) which can be used for this purpose. Only ten per cent of the afore-mentioned surface are currently exploited for ecological agriculture.
The head of state also referred to the Romanian-Qatari relations, reminding that it was a priority for our country to resume the traditional links with the Arab states. In this sense, president Basescu pointed out that there is a tradition in living together of Romanians and the Muslims in our country. “We respect each other, with respect one another's religions and faiths”, added the head of state reminding that over the last 15 years the Romanian universities trained thousands of Arab students. “As you know, we are NATO members and we have troops in Iraq and Afghanistan . There was no conflict between our troops and the Iraqi people in the last years. We didn't lose any soldier just because our armies are in a friendly relationship with local communities. It is one more proof that we knew how to stay together with the Muslims”, stated president Basescu .
President of Romania expressed his belief hat it is the right moment for a dialogue between cultures and religions, appreciating, at the same time, that he counts among the politicians who consider that someone's freedom has to take into account the respect of the values of the others. Concluding his speech, the president of country ensured the Qatari businessmen that they are welcome in Romania such as the Romanians are well re ceived in Qatar .
This very day, the head of the Romanian state met with the president of Qatar Airways company , Akbar Al Baker. During the meeting, the opportunity of opening an airline Bucharest-Qatar was discussed upon. One of the arguments the president of Qatar Airways brought up was the fact that there are 700 Romanians currently working in Qatar .
The official delegation led by the president of Romania went today to Ras Laffan , where he visited the industrial complex in town. The town of Ras Laffan represents the center of the industry and trade with hydrocarbons of the State of Qatar, namely the operation basis of two of the biggest natural liquefied gas world producers.
The industrial area comprises: gas processing, petrochemistry and refinery facilities; seawater cooling and wastewater treatment systems; networks of berths and pipes for the supply with gas and export goods; parks of stoking reservoirs and gas processing units; infrastructure, access ways, sewerage, unsalted water, surface draining etc..
In 2001, in Ras Laffan , an energy company was set up, which put into operation the first Qatari capacities for generating electric energy (750 MW) and for desalting seawater (40 million gallons a day).
The Department for Public Communication
Communication Department of the Presidential Administration
15 February 2006