Romania has a 33-billion-euro trade balance deficit, with oil and pharmaceuticals among the industries contributing to it, Daniel Constantin, president of the Romanian Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade (ARICE), said on Tuesday at a specialist debate.
'Romania is facing the issue of the trade balance deficit from a strategic point of view. In the coming period, there should be a national project aimed at reducing the trade deficits recorded in recent years. It appears they have stabilised at around 33 billion euros. That is the trade balance deficit. It is important, even now, when significant funds are coming into the defence industry, to see how we can direct them and how we can create partnerships so that this sector does not fall into this category,' the ARICE president said.
According to Constantin, industries that contribute to the trade deficit include the oil and pharmaceuticals sectors.
'I do not have a situation regarding the defence industry, but I can give examples from other areas that generate a trade deficit. (...) At the top of the list of products creating deficits is the oil industry, where the situation may be more difficult, but in second place are pharmaceutical products, where I believe Romania still has the potential to produce more,' Constantin said.
He also noted that for 2026 the Romanian Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade has contracted 95 international trade fairs and exhibitions where Romanian products can be promoted, but only a few of these involve the defence industry.
'I would like us to have more active cooperation so that we can identify more such opportunities. In 2026 we have only two international trade fairs for the defence industry in which we will participate. I am convinced we can do more so that we are present where such opportunities are discussed,' Constantin added.
The Employers' Organisation of the Defence Industry (OPIA) organised a conference in Bucharest on Tuesday on financing opportunities for the defence industry sector.
The event brought together representatives of public authorities, financial and banking institutions, and companies from the local defence industry to discuss financing instruments and lending mechanisms needed for the sector's development in the current geopolitical context.
Participants included representatives of the Government, members of the Defence, Public Order and National Security Committees of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, representatives of financial and banking institutions, as well as representatives of OPIA and member companies.
OPIA brings together some of the most important companies active in Romania's defence industry, including ROMARM, Uzina Mecanica Cugir, Bluespace Technology, Thales Systems, Uzina Mecanica Mija and Electromecanica Ploiesti. A
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