Romania seeks energy involvement in Belt and Road Initiative

BUCHAREST - Romanian experts and advisors saw Romania's potential in developing long-term energy cooperation with China under the Belt and Road Initiative.

At a "Fuel and the Silk Road" conference held Wednesday in Bucharest, they agreed that China will be more and more an outstanding economic partner for many countries, and that Romania, a major geopolitical actor at the Black Sea and the eastern frontier of the Euro-Atlantic structure, should definitely strengthen its economic ties with China and take part in the Silk Road Initiative.

Vasile Iuga, a senior advisor with PwC Romania, said China's Belt and Road Initiative would involve 70 percent of the world's energy resources to ensure global energy security through energy-saving programs and the diversification of energy resources.

Petrisor Peiu, director of the Black Sea University Foundation think tank, which organized the conference, reminded that Romania's oil refineries, which are very competitive and have huge processing capacity, should be a valuable asset for Silk Road projects.

Radu Dudau from the Energy Policy Group said that many Chinese delegations and private investors came to the Romanian Energy Ministry in 2016, and that the two countries are discussing the possibility of building two new nuclear reactors in Cernavoda power plant.

It suggests that China can be a reliable long-term business partner for Romania, Dudau said.

Liviu Muresan, president of the EURISC think-tank, calls the Belt and Road Initiative "a project of the century."

"It is of huge interests," said Muresan, "Romania possesses some assets and therefore has the potential to play a role in the energy sector."