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DevMin Vestea: It is becoming essential for development to be not only sustainable, but also resilient
Development amidst the various challenges of recent years must be not only sustainable, but also resilient in the face of possible crises, regardless of their nature, and in order to meet this requirement, it is necessary to take up a political commitment to implementing resilient development practices, Romania's Development Minister Adrian Vestea told the opening on Thursday of the 2nd edition of the Euro-Atlantic Resilience Forum, told Agerpres.
"The various crises that we have faced in recent years have shown us the importance of resilience in the development process of our countries. The Covid-19 pandemic and the geopolitical conflict in our neighbourhood have made us understand how fragile development can be, as Europe was exposed to a reversal of the growth trend and a slight depreciation in the standard of living. As a result of these shocks, it becomes essential for development in all priority sectors to be not only sustainable, but also resilient in the face of possible crises, regardless of their nature. In order to respond to this demand, it is necessary to take up a political commitment to implementing, at the central and local level, resilient development practices by allocating consistent resources under national and European programmes. For that, the integration of resilience principles should be expanded within development strategies at the national or sectoral level as an essential condition of the growth process, bearing in mind that investment in resilience is investment in sustainable development," said Vestea.
He also mentioned the "extraordinary opportunity" that the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism offers to EU member states to strengthen their ability to adapt to crises and the degree of preparation to build infrastructures based on the principles of adaptability, robustness and flexibility in accordance with European development priorities.
"The European Commission has permanently supported and encouraged these efforts by offering support for the creation and development of real mechanisms to strengthen regional and national resilience," he said.
He also mentioned Romania's National Programme for the Consolidation of Buildings at High Seismic Risk, showing that it entered an accelerated implementation phase in August. Its general objective is to carry out the necessary works on buildings that are insufficiently protected against earthquakes.
