November 8, 2001

AMBASSADOR GUEST VISITS TIMIS AND ARAD COUNTIES TO MEET WITH LOCAL LEADERS AND HIGHLIGHT U.S. INTERESTS

 

U.S. Ambassador Michael E. Guest is making today, November 8, 2001, his first official trip outside the capital, with a 2-day visit to Timisoara and Arad. The Ambassador will meet with local officials and tour the operations of U.S. based companies.

The Ambassador plans to meet in Timisoara with the Prefect of Timis County, Horia Ciocarlie, the President of the Timis County Council, Dan Ioan Sipos, and with Timisoara Mayor, Gheorghe Coriolan Ciuhandu. During these meetings, the Ambassador plans to learn firsthand the challenges facing local officials in the areas of administration and delivery of citizens services.

As a focus on U.S. investments in Romania, the Ambassador will also meet in Timisoara with local representatives of U.S. based companies and tour the premises of two of these, electronics manufacturer Solectron, and the marketing and consumer products manufacturer, Procter and Gamble.

The Ambassador's two final stops in Timisoara on Friday morning will include a visit to the "Onisimus House", a child welfare center, and participation in a Serbian-Romanian roundtable at the Euro-Regional Center for Democracy.

Moving on to Arad later in the day, the Ambassador will call on the 191st Romanian Infantry Battalion, the joint Hungarian-Romanian Peacekeeping Battalion, before meeting with Arad officials including Arad Prefect Gheorge Pele, Arad County Council President Caius Mihai Parpala, and Arad Mayor, Dorel Popa. The Ambassador will then tour two Arad-based U.S. companies, railroad car manufacturer, Trinity Industries, and textile manufacturer for export, Sara Lee, which is located in the Curtici Free Trade Zone.

According to Ambassador Guest, "I have chosen Timis and Arad Counties for my first official trip within Romania because of their large number of American companies and their reputation as dynamic and growing areas of this country. I look forward to meeting local leaders to hear directly their concerns, and to seeing how American companies are faring in western Romania. I'm also very pleased to have the opportunity to see for myself how local NGOs are dealing with pressing social problems, including human trafficking, and helping to improve the lives of homeless children. I hope that this will be only the first of many visits within Romania, as I'm anxious to learn more about the concerns of Romania's citizens and the interests that our two countries have in common."