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Victor Ponta hopes would return home with clearly-set energy projects worth 'several billions of dollars or euros'
Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta announced on Wednesday that as part of the visit he is paying to the United States, he will meet the executives of several major U.S. energy companies in Houston on Friday. He added he hoped would return home with clearly-set energy projects worth 'several billions of dollars or euros'.
Ponta said he and the energy and finances ministers will pay a visit to Houston, 'the capital of energy in the United States. The major companies, Exxon and all others are not headquartered in New York or Washington, but in Houston. We will have meetings with the biggest American companies, some of which have already invested in Romania and others which I want to persuade to invest in Romania,' Ponta told Antena 3 news channel.
He added, 'The energy security of Romania, our capability of no longer depending on (Russian gas giant) Gazprom, of no longer depending on imports, of being able to ensure (the gas supplies to neighbouring Republic of) Moldova, of being independent in this respect should be a strategic objective in the next years and we need powerful investors'.
The prime minister stressed it is about investments amounting to billions of dollars or euros.
'Therefore, I come back home with a very clear political position of Romania in relation to our international partners, but I hope I come back also with a range of energy projects with very clearly-set American companies', he added.
Ponta underscored Romania has its own energy production and explained Romania is seen as a country attractive for investments in its energy sector.
'It also has a stability that any big company, which invests billions of dollars, needs. Such a message of stability, of seriousness is important', he said, explaining that Romania, over the last ten years, has had a president - Traian Basescu - who has been changing his message from one day to another. 'Obviously nobody made the difference between a president who speaks whatever crosses his mind and the country and we all had to suffer', the prime minister said.