Romania, which attracts visitors with its historic fabric dating back centuries, continues to draw the attention of foreign investors thanks to its natural resources.

Shades of Green: Romania's Captivating History and Natural Beauty Romania is an Eastern European country located northwest of Turkey and on the Balkan Peninsula. It is bordered by the Black Sea, Ukraine and Moldova to the east, Ukraine to the north, Hungary and Yugoslavia to the west, and Bulgaria to the south. One quarter of the country is forested and it possesses extensive plains, rivers, and fertile soils. For this reason, it has a structure suitable for agriculture and livestock farming. It holds salt and iron deposits. Moreover, these lands contain approximately 2,000 mineral deposits. Regarding Europe's oil reserves, Romania ranks second after Russia. Romania holds a large portion of methane gas, which is rarely extracted worldwide. Looking at economic relations between Turkey and Romania, our main export products are textiles, iron and steel, motor vehicles, and energy-generating machinery. Our imports consist of metal ores, iron and steel, motor vehicles, and crude oil products. In addition, Romania hosts natural resources such as coal, lignite, iron ore, manganese, chromium, molybdenum, copper, lead, zinc, silver, gold, antimony, bauxite, mercury, and uranium. Looking at Romania's history, we can see that it dates back to very ancient times. It is known that the Thracians, who belonged to the Indo-European group, lived on Romanian territory. In the early years of the establishment of the Ottoman Empire, campaigns were organized to spread Islam to Europe, particularly in the Balkans and thus to present-day Romanian territory, bringing Wallachia and Moldavia within its borders.

A Country Reconstructed, An Economy Reconstructed

In the late 1980s, as the communist regime faltered in Eastern Bloc countries, protests began. Following the uprising of the people and with the military siding with the people, the Ceaușescu era ended and the National Salvation Front took control, leading to free elections beginning in 1990. During this period, Romania, lacking serious industrial infrastructure, moved toward privatization. With the investments made, the 2000s saw major economic development success. With successful continuation of economic policy, important steps were taken in the development of democracy. Having become Europe's fastest-growing country, Romania was quite successful in combating poverty. However, by the end of the 2000s, the economic crisis that occurred disrupted stability in the country. With the collapse of economic stability, political stability in the country also suffered and it fell to the position of the EU's second-poorest country. Particularly in 2007-2008, inflation rose and consequently in 2009 the economy contracted by 7%. To end the crisis, a USD 26 million agreement was reached between the International Monetary Fund and the Romanian Government. Although the economy gained momentum with IMF support, this situation did not last long. By 2011, a new agreement was signed between the IMF and the World Bank and Romania. Today, Romania is the country with the highest debt to the IMF. With per capita GDP at USD 2,300, the unemployment rate at 7%, and the inflation rate at 3%, these figures were recorded. The country's economy is based primarily (80%) on agriculture. The biggest reason for this is that fertile lands constitute a large portion of the country's territory. Nevertheless, only 40% of national income comes from agriculture. Romania is the country ranked first in grain production in the world. Industry holds its place in the economy with an 8% share. In metalworking and heavy machinery manufacturing, it ranks as the world's 14th country. Production mainly consists of tractors, locomotives, and electrical appliances. The reason for having an industry based on iron and steel can be attributed to the country's natural resources. Besides this, the chemical industry and construction sector are determining factors in the economy. Romania holds a large portion of methane gas, which is rarely extracted worldwide. Making a generalization, Romania conducts 16% of its imports with Russia. It also conducts 18% of its total exports with Russia. Among other countries from which it imports, Germany, the USA, and Iraq lead. It also exports with Germany.

Economic Relations with Turkey

Looking at the economic relations between Turkey and Romania, our main export products are textiles, iron and steel, motor vehicles, and energy-generating machinery. Our imports consist of metal ores, iron and steel, motor vehicles, and crude oil products. Our exports to Romania reached a significant figure of USD 2.8 billion in 2015. Our imports amounted to USD 2.6 billion. Today, there are approximately 7,000 Turkish companies in Romania. Roughly 90 Turkish contracting firms have completed projects valued at approximately USD 6.2 billion.

Sources [1] http://www.aljazeera.com.tr/ulke-profili/ulkeprofili-romanya [2] http://www.tarih.gen.tr/ulkeler-tarihi-romanyatarihi.html [3] http://www.mfa.gov.tr [4] http://www.cografya.gen.tr/siyasi/devletler/romanya.htm