The Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIR) took over on September 10 the presidency of the Association of Balkan Chambers, during the Annual General Assembly that took place in Podgorica, Montenegro, the CCIR informed in a release.

The Association of Balkan Chambers was established in 1994, at the initiative of the National Chamber of Romania, with the other founding members being Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, North Macedonia, Romania, Turkey, Yugoslavia (now Serbia and Montenegro), to which Cyprus was added in 1996, and Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2001.

“CCIR has achieved notable international results, if we refer only to the first ten days of September, both in Melbourne, where it took over a new mandate within the World Chambers Federation, and today, when taking over the presidency of the Association of Balkan Chambers,” said CCIR President Mihai Daraban, who deplored the insufficient support from policymakers, so that the National Chamber be able to transform all economic opportunities into concrete benefits for the Romanian business milieu.

Daraban stressed that Romania can become the convergence center for investments and economic cooperation in the Balkan region, but needs a coherent political vision that supports the economic diplomacy that CCIR carries out at the international level.

    “In this mandate, we aim to transform the Association of Balkan Chambers into a strategic platform for accelerating Balkan economic integration, capitalizing on the position of dominant economic force in the region and, at the same time; the status of gateway to European markets through the Port of Constanta,” Mihai Daraban also said.