On Thursday 9 February, Mr Dinu gave an honest talk on politics in his home country of Romania. The country has an extremely interesting history with them being under the control of the USSR for the majority of the second half of the 20th century and since then have developed into a stronger, more independent nation.
Initially, Mr Dinu quickly went through a modern history of Romania, giving his thoughts on the USSR and the Eastern Bloc which Romania found themselves in. He informed us of Romania’s relations with various countries and organisations such as the EU since the downfall of the Eastern Bloc.
Romania’s economy was one that was mainly agricultural, but over the last few decades Romania has seen a transformation into a country with a strong industry, which contributes to 28% of the country’s GDP. The last few decades have seen millions of Romanians move to different countries in the west such as the USA and UK. Mr Dinu explained the negative impacts this has had on both the Romanian economy but also on the mindset of many young Romanians, as there was a strong culture of wanting to leave Romania and move to a wealthier western nation where opportunities were more plentiful.
Despite this, Romania’s future is very bright. As a country with a growing industry and growing self-identity, it is only possible for them to go from strength to strength and build stronger ties with other nations. Mr Dinu also made sure to promote the beautiful landscapes of the Romanian mountains, castles and cities that attract millions of tourists a year.
