CCIR's Daraban: Romania's exports to Japan increased 62pct, thanks to EPA agreement

Romania's exports to Japan increased by 62% in November 2020 y-o-y thanks to the European Union-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), which entered into force on February 1, 2019, Chairman of the Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIR) Mihai Daraban said at a meeting with Director General of the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) Romania Keisuke Mizuno. According to a CCIR press statement released on Friday, the meeting of the two officials, which took place on Thursday, March 4, marked the end of the term off office of the JETRO Romania leader. At the same meeting, the new director general of the organization, Shigeyo Nishizawa, was introduced. "Japan is an essential economic partner to Romania, being one of the few G20 countries that is not a member of the European Union with which we managed to have a surplus in our trade balance. Thus, following the entry into force on February 1, 2019, of the European Union - Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), Romania's exports increased by 62% in November 2020, as against November 2019. An eloquent example of very the good economic relations between the two countries is the recent establishment of a Japanese branch for logistics operations in the Port of Constanta, as well as the fact that the container terminal of the same port was built on funding coming from the Bank of Japan," Daraban is quoted as saying in the statement. In his turn, Keisuke Mizuno, at the end of his term, voiced particular praise of the partnership with CCIR carried out for over five years, emphasising the professionalism, seriousness and involvement of the institution in promoting the interests of the Romanian business environment. At the same time, the new General Manager of JETRO Romania, Shigeyo Nishizawa, assured the Romanian officials that he will act intensely for a continuous development of the commercial relations between the two countries, capitalising on the CCIR position of top representative of the business community in Romania. CCIR and JETRO Romania have developed, in the last five years, a very active inter-institutional relationship, materialised in a series of joint event, such as: the 2017 and 2020 editions of the "Parts Components Procurement Exhibition," Japanese trade missions to Romania in 2018 and a CCIR trade mission to Tokyo and Osaka in November 2019. AGERPRES (RO - author: Daniel Badea, editor: Oana Tilica; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Adina Panaitescu)