Bucharest – The Romanian Embassy in the United States announced on Thursday the completion of the “50 States, One Community” project, carried out over nearly five years across all 50 US states. Launched in October 2021, the initiative evolved from a programme aimed at strengthening ties with the Romanian diaspora into one of the most extensive public and economic diplomacy initiatives conducted by Romania’s diplomatic mission in the US.
The completion of the project also marks a first: Romania’s ambassador to the United States, Andrei Muraru, has become the first Romanian ambassador to visit all 50 US states during a single term in office, according to a press release published on the Embassy’s website.
Within the framework of the project, 542 diplomatic, economic, academic and community activities were organised, including 100 meetings with US officials, 96 meetings with business representatives, 69 meetings with Romanian-American communities, 70 visits to Romanian churches and 30 visits to universities and research institutions. The programme also included numerous cultural events and official ceremonies dedicated to promoting Romanian-American relations.
The project began in the state of Ohio, which is home to the oldest Romanian community in the United States. Its initial aim was to strengthen dialogue with Romanians in the diaspora, but the initiative was later expanded to developing relations with local and state authorities, the business community, universities and professional organisations in each US state.
According to the same source, the project contributed to expanding institutional dialogue between Romania and US states, developing new partnerships between local authorities and organising economic missions to Romania. At the same time, cooperation opportunities were identified in areas such as energy, agriculture, the defence industry, technology, infrastructure, education and research.
The symbolic moment marking the completion of the project was the visit to the 50th US state, New York, and Ellis Island, the main entry point for millions of immigrants to the United States, including tens of thousands of Romanians who arrived in America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
“‘50 States, One Community’ moved far beyond the status of a project connecting with Romanians in all 50 US states. It became a platform through which we opened new political, economic, academic and community opportunities for Romania,” Ambassador Andrei Muraru said, as quoted in the press release. He emphasised that one of the initiative’s most important achievements was strengthening links between Romanian-American communities and creating closer connections with Romania.
The Embassy of Romania stated that the institutional, economic and academic partnerships developed as part of the project will continue after its completion, and that the network of contacts built across all 50 states will serve as a long-term platform for cooperation aimed at further developing relations between Romania and the United States.
