mugur isrescu : opening remarks – the international 2023 ermas conference welcome address by mr mugur isrescu, governor of the national bank of romania, at the ninth edition of the annual scientific conference of the romanian academic economists from abroad, the 2023 ermas conference, organised in partnership with the bucharest university of economic studies, babe – bolyai university cluj - napoca and ermas association, bucharest, 26 july 2023. * * * distinguished audience, ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to wish you the warmest welcome at the national bank of romania, for the ninth edition of the annual scientific conference of the romanian academic economists from abroad – the ermas conference. on behalf of the board of the national bank of romania, i wish to congratulate the scientific committee for their professionalism and the remarkable program they have put together. allow me to extend our greetings to all our partners and their contribution to organizing this top event in academia. i recall with great pleasure the first edition of the ermas conference back in 2014 when i had the honor to be a keynote speaker. i remember the excellent quality of the ideas and of the papers presented. we meet again today for the ninth edition, jointly organized by the national bank of romania and the bucharest university of economic studies. over the last ten years, the ermas conference has become the flagship of the economics academic conferences in romania with the constant support of the babebolyai university and, starting 2019, of the ermas association. universities from iai, sibiu, timioara and for the current edition, the bucharest university of economic studies have also been supporting this initiative ; and of course, your constant and impressive support as contributors to each edition of the conference with high quality research papers. i do believe that our partnership with the academia is based on a longstanding tradition, as a pillar for progress and public policy development in romania. back in 2014, i encouraged you to dedicate some of your research to specific problems of the romanian economy and society, to participate in public debates on relevant economic topics, to collaborate with the local academic environment, as well as with the institutions in charge of implementing economic policies. many of you did so. the activity of the ermas association, the common projects some of you have developed in close collaboration with my colleagues from the national bank of romania, as well as your partnership with domestic universities are excellent examples and i encourage you to continue. ladies and

4 percent ) and slightly below poland ( 79. 6 percent ). however, growth in romania was not evenly distributed. bucharest is currently above one hundred sixty, while much slower converge took place for other regions. i cannot emphasize strongly enough that continuing and improving the absorption of eu funds is the best way to boost the potential growth of our economy. an additional factor proven to boost the economy is the human capital. understanding the sources of economic growth and the role of education, topics that many papers will cover during this conference, is of paramount importance. 2 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches distinguished audience, last but not least, during your social program, in the carpathian mountains - sinaia and at bran castle - you will discover or re - discover some parts of romania, a country with a rich history. allow me to add a few fun facts about sinaia, which is an eponym of mount sinai. by the end of the 17th century, a group of monks, led by mihail cantacuzino, a landlord of those times, went on a pilgrimage to palestine and the sinai peninsula, to saint ekaterina monastery. once returned, they established a monastery in the poorly inhabited, but abundantly beautiful area, called sinaia monastery. a century later, the first king of romania, carol i fell in love with the place and built pele castle, his summer residence, which you will visit. little by little, sinaia became popular among the members of the high society : they started building summer residences as well as hotels, villas. one can still admire there original buildings of the 19th and early 20th centuries. i hope you will have an enjoyable trip in the carpathians. to conclude, i am confident that the conference will be a successful event. i wish you all fruitful debates and a pleasant stay in romania! thank you! 3 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches