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Politics & Government

Lauzen Meets With Romanian President During NATO Summit Visit

State Sen. Chris Lauzen, the Republican candidate for Kane County Board chairman, meets with Romanian President Traian Basescu to talk about economic development opportunities.

State Sen. Chris Lauzen and his wife, Sarah, met privately for 30 minutes with Romanian President Traian Basescu during his visit to Chicago for the NATO Summit, a Lauzen press release announced Monday.

Lauzen said the purpose of the meeting was to strengthen their relationship and to discuss economic development opportunities that will create jobs in Kane County and Romania.

Lauzen was helped by Kane County constituents and Illinois friends to gather proposals of mutual interests. These ideas included an export plan for Romania of higher value cuts of meat sold to the G-7 (Germany, France and other nations) using Illinois feed, agricultural equipment and market information technology; petroleum and natural gas exploration applications; environmentally-friendly waste-to-energy innovations; and private funding of for-profit university education best practices.

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Basescu is a former ship captain in the Romanian merchant fleet, former mayor of Bucharest, and is particularly proud that he is the only president in the European Union to win re-election after the economic recession.

All four of Lauzen’s grandparents emigrated from northwestern Romania to the United States in the early 1900s. He has travelled at his own expense three times to Bucharest, Brasov, Bran, Cluj, Timisoara, Arad, Satu Mare and other towns and regions, including the Carpathian mountains.

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“I am deeply grateful for the opportunity and privilege to help build peace and prosperity among the 12-and-a-half million people of Illinois and the 24 million of Romania," Lauzen said. "In the American Midwest and South Central Europe, we share the attributes of hard work, practical intelligence, love of family and country, and reverence for God."

In 2006, Basescu presented the “Star of Romania” to Lauzen in a ceremony in Washington, DC. The “Star of Romania” is the highest civilian recognition given to a citizen of another country. The honor includes a series of ranks, with other notable recipients being Queen Elizabeth II, Albert II of Monaco and former U.S. President George W. Bush.

The next step is organization of a trade mission from Illinois to Romania, including Midwestern export powerhouses such as Caterpillar, John Deere, Monsanto and others with commercial interests in agriculture, manufacturing, seed technology and education. These activities will be coordinated through the Romanian ambassador to the United States, Adrian Vierita, within the next year.

 

SOURCE: Chris Lauzen press release

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