Good morning. It’s a great pleasure to be here today. It’s a really fanstastic opportunity for the Embassy to be represented. I want to congratulate AmCham, Anca, Catalin, Andra and the whole committee for the great work that has gone into this report and to the previous report.
This is the third step if you will in a process that the Corporate Governance committee has moved in terms of helping companies operate as better corporate citizens in the country. So we’re very pleased to be able to play a role in supporting that work, encouraging companies to engage further into corporate social responsibility practices and to tell a little bit of a story about how much and how important this is to the work the State Department does around the world. We do a lot to try to promote the idea of companies in partnership with governments and society, working to build the shared prosperity that we so want to enjoy around the world.
Ambassador Klemm arrived recently and has outlined several goals for the Embassy to pursue here in Romania and a key – one of those goals – is prosperity, shared prosperity between Romania and the United States. But prosperity is broad, it’s not just the business side, it’s not just making money, it’s making sure that lives are better and that people understand that being in business in a country or in a town is more than just about employing people and setting a certain manufacturing process in place; it’s about that community, it’s about knowing what people need and what will be helpful and what will contribute, and making it so that the economy thrives, because everybody thrives.
So it’s really fantastic work. I had the chance to glance at the report this morning for the first time and I liked to see how practical it is. I liked to see the fact that it gives very concrete ideas and very specific guidelines that companies can use to maximize the work that they’re going to do on this front.
We’re going to continue to promote the idea of corporate social responsibility. The State Department every year has an award. Two years ago, Coca Cola Hellenic Romania was one of the finalists for our corporate social responsibility award and we continue to look for great examples and help share those, not just with the community here in Romania, but around the world.
So I would like to thank everybody for coming out with this and again congratulate AmCham on a fantastic initiative. Thank you.
