Completion of the Memorandum regarding Rompetrol was the main topic of talks held between Minister of Energy, SMEs and Business Community, Andrei Gerea, during bilateral meetings with the Prime Minister, the Energy Minister, President and Vice President of KazMunayGas and First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan.

Kazakh side appreciated the fact that an agreement was reached on privatization timing and on the establishment of joint investment fund of 150 million dollars. KazMunayGas Group assured the Romania official that it wants to continue the project and showed interest in new investment in our country.

“During the discussions, I was assured that KazMunayGas – Rompetrol project is of particular importance and has support from all levels of government and the economic environment in Kazakhstan. We are very interested in setting up this fund as soon as possible, the Kazakh government is interested in a swift finalization of the Memorandum and sale of shares, and I think in about 10 months we will complete this memorandum. It would be a great step forward that may attract other trade exchanges worth billions of euros each year between the two countries”, said Minister Andrei Gerea.

Minister of Energy, SMEs and Business Community pointed out, both in the speech during the tenth edition of Kazenergy Eurasian Forum 2015, and in bilateral discussions with officials, the fiscal measures taken by the Romanian Government, noting that reduction of VAT and decreased labor costs can be an important anchor for carrying out new investments in our country.

Meanwhile, the Romanian official presented the stage interconnection with Republic of Moldova, showing Romania’s priority in ensuring regional energy security. Minister Andrei Gerea has manifested the availability of Romanian companies such as Hidroelectrica and Electrica to invest outside Romania.

Also, the Ministry of Energy and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan reported that they study a potential involvement in AGRI, but a decision is yet to be taken. In addition, given that it owns 40% of world production of uranium, Kazakhstan has expressed the willingness to cooperate with Romania in this field.