Ciolacu: There are clear signs that the strategic partnership with the US is entering a new economic dimension

The government has completed all the preliminary procedures to be able to adopt this year's draft state budget on Saturday in a special session, the third this week.

According to Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, only the news that the budget has been finalized has led to a drop in the interest rates at which the country borrows on foreign markets and there will be other positive effects after the draft is approved by Parliament, the Prime Minister said at the opening of Friday's session at the Victoria Palace.

One of the effects of the finalization of the draft budget is the reduction in the interest rate at which Romania borrows on foreign markets, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said at the start of the executive meeting, adding that there will be other positive effects.

Marcel Ciolacu: I draw your attention to just one figure, exports, which are up over 3% this year. This will be the first major impact of our full integration into the Schengen area. Another important effect is that we had a January with good weather. This has allowed builders to work intensively on construction sites and especially on highways. That is why we have taken the decision to increase the transport budget this year compared to last year by almost 20%, so we are sure that there will be lots completed this spring.

A priority for this year is to attract foreign investment, with the chief executive announcing the intention of a foreign company to relocate its Bulgarian factory to Romania.

The Prime Minister also said that next week he will also hold talks with the heads of major American investment funds.

Marcel Ciolacu: There are clear signals that the strategic partnership with the United States is entering a new economic dimension agreed with President Trump at the end of last year; attracting important foreign investments is a priority this year as well.

Translated by: Radu Matei