LOC21:50
18:50 GMT
BUCHAREST, March 9 (KUNA) -- General Secretary of the Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC) Abdulrahman Hamad Al-Attiyah said Wednesday that promising
potentials in Romania and southeastern European countries on one hand, and
these in GCC states on other hand provides big opportunities for joint
investment.
Al-Attiyah added, in an address delivered on his behalf by Miss. Hadeel
bint Abdullah Al-Samhan to the First GCC-Romania Economic Forum here, that the
greater role in pushing these investments should be played by the private
sector as it can be more effective in providing resources, know-how, and
expertise to further develop the potentials of joint investments.
Further, he said that the forum comes in its due time, noting that it
brought together the entrepreneurs of GCC states and their counterparts in
Romania and southeastern European countries with the aim of introducing the
investment opportunities available in both regions.
Al-Attiyah also said that there are promising opportunities of joint
investment between GCC Arab states and southeastern European countries,
particularly in the domains of agriculture, tourism, energy services, natural
wealth, and financial investments along with other fields.
GCC top executive also referred to the volume of industrial investment in
GCC states which soared by 2009 to hit more than USD 180 billion with the
number of operating factories exceeding 13,000 and employing more than 1
million laborers by the end of the same year.
He also noted that industrial sector accounted for 11 percent of the Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) in GCC states, noting that in spite of this sustained
growth, the GCC Arab states aspire to further development and rebound.
Al-Attiyah concluded by saying that volume of trade exchange between GCC
states and Romania hit USD 609 million in 2009 compared to USD 122 million in
2000 with an increase by nearly 400 percent. (end)
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