Chambers Wales South East, South West and Mid teamed up with the British Romanian Chamber of Commerce (BRCC) to introduce businesses in Wales to the opportunities and routes to market in Romania.

The BRCC is a business-led organisation which promotes bilateral trade and investment between the UK and Romania. The chamber provides resources, knowledge and infrastructure support for UK companies to make the most of emerging opportunities in Romania and, likewise, for Romanian firms to do business in established UK markets.

The event, which was hosted by the BRCC’s Vice Chairman Colin Lovering, set out to highlight the synergies between Wales and Romania and the opportunities that businesses can embrace if they choose to collaborate with the European country.

The panel included Neil McGregor, BRCC Chair; Daniel Kearvell, BRCC Vice Chairman; Diana Stroia-Matthews, Honorary Consul for Romania in Wales; Bogdan Mihailescu, Minister Counsellor of Commercial and Economic Affairs, Romanian Embassy in the UK; Professor Liana Cipcigan, Research Team Leader in Sustainable Transport at Cardiff University’s School of Engineering; Dave Matthews, Managing Director of Comcen Group; and Lidia Betoaea, Head of One Stop Shop Office, Cooperation, Innovation and External Cooperation Department at North East Regional Development Agency, Romania.

Unanimously, the panel encouraged Welsh businesses to visit Romania to change perceptions about the country and highlight the similarities between the countries such as strong cybersecurity, manufacturing, renewables and food and drink industries, as well as cultural activities.

Other opportunities and benefits for doing business in Romania included:

Location

• Located in South-Eastern Europe, Romania has the benefit of having access to one of the largest free trade markets, the EU. Its proximity to Russia and Asia also opens up other market possibilities and access to businesses wishing to trade outside of Europe. The country boasts strong rail and sea infrastructure connections for exporting and importing.

Investment

• Embassies and Chambers of Commerce can help businesses with a registered office in Romania to apply for state aid investment, access European financing opportunities, build business connections and advise on routes to market. In 2022, almost half of Romania’s counties will be able to benefit from 60% non-reimbursable support from this year for investment projects.

Talent acquisition

• With concerns in Wales around recruiting and retaining skilled staff, as well as the supposed ‘Great Resignation’ economic trend, panellists praised the work ethic, low turnover, skillsets and language abilities of employees they had acquired in Romania.

Knowledge transfer

• Collaboration will be beneficial for Romanian businesses. Panellists identified the strength of educational institutions and research facilities in Wales. Knowledge transfer between these Welsh facilities and businesses in Romania could make a huge difference in industries focused on agriculture and sustainability.

Next steps

Chambers Wales South East, South West and Mid is part of the global business network of over 60 accredited Chambers of Commerce and use their connections and extensive experience to curate end-to-end solutions and supply chain connectivity across global markets.

Whether you would like to begin trading with or do business in Romania, or elsewhere, contact international@cw-seswm.com to find out more.