PM Citu: Figures show that Romania's economy has overcome the crisis in just one year

Figures show that Romania's economy has overcome the crisis "in just one year," Prime Minister Florin Citu said on Tuesday, noting that all he wants in economic life is predictability and stability, and that when others choose "to discredit", he chooses "to build". In this thread, he promised that by 2024 he will carry out all the reforms he pledged to and reiterated that governing "is not affected" by the National Liberal Party's leadership campaign. "Dear Romanians, I promised you extraordinary economic news, 13% economic growth. Sounds good, doesn't it? Especially since we have been together through the unfortunate stretch when global economy suffered the biggest blow in the last hundred years. Romania's economy, but the economies of other states as well were shut down in this fight. At that time we didn't have the solution we have today, we did not have the vaccine. In 2020, in order to save the economy we put forward a set of measures such as SME INVEST, debt rescheduling, the postponement of taxes, deferring bank installments and so on," Citu said at the Victoria Palace of Government. The Prime Minister pointed out that throughout this time he was "the only optimist". "As you very well remember, I was the only optimist. Against all odds, I promised that Romania's economy will see a rapid recovery, a V-shaped recovery. We worked hard and we succeeded. But for that I thank you, dear Romanians, I wouldn't have succeeded without you. You are the real heroes. The figures show that the Romanian economy has overcome the economic crisis in just one year, in what is Romania's fastest economic recovery ever after such a crisis. I think that the last time this happened was 100 years ago, and for the next period I want two things: predictability and stability in the economic life," Florin Citu said. According to him, the 13.6 percent economic growth recorded in the second quarter is proof that he has done his job very well both as Finance Minister and as Prime Minister. "13.6 percent is a figure we all need to keep in mind because it represents the economic growth in the second quarter of this year. Regardless of certain comments in the public space, this figure proves that I did a very good job last year as Finance Minister, and this year as Prime Minister. I've said it and I repeat it whenever necessary, the Romanian government is not affected by PNL's internal campaign. For me, the Romanians' interest always prevails. When others choose to discredit, destroy, and minimize, I choose to build," Citu said. He also claimed that there has been a change of paradigm in the Executive he leads compared to the governments in the past 30 years. "First we invest, then we have economic growth and then the results are shared among all Romanians through the mechanisms of the market economy and not according to political criteria. Our goal is for Romania to become a destination for high value-added investments. This is only possible with a well-educated and also well-paid workforce, this is what we wanted for our country, and this is what happens now. Dear Romanians, the current government has taken Romania to a new stage of development where the state is the partner of the private sector, duly pays its bills and public money is no longer wasted but is invested efficiently, private property is sacred, the entrepreneur is a hero and performance is acknowledged in both the private and the public sector. And this is just the beginning," Prime Minister Citu said. In his opinion, a double-digit economic growth is possible this year. "Please remember one thing: a double-digit economic growth is possible this year. Every time I promised, I delivered. I promise you now that by 2024 I will carry out all the reforms I pledged when no one dared to. Making Romania more competitive at regional level will be a challenge, but it is our goal for the future of our country, my goal. In conclusion, I want you to stay optimistic together with me. This is an encouragement to both me and you. When everyone had lost all hope and we were all surrounded by gloomy scenarios, this government has found and implemented real solutions for maintaining jobs, ensuring working capital and investments. I will continue with this approach and I will prove to the Romanians that they can trust me when we speak about responsibility and performance in the act of governing," the Prime Minister concluded. AGERPRES (RO - author: Daniel Florea, editor: Claudia Stanescu; EN - editor: Simona Klodnischi)