Great Union Day December 1 is the national holiday of Romania. It commemorates the assembly of the delegates of ethnic Romanians held in Alba lulia. This holiday was set after the 1989 Romanian Revolution and it marks the unification of Transylvania and the provinces of Bessarabia and Bukovina with the Romanian Kingdom in 1918.

From 1948 until 1989, Romania had a Soviet-style command economy in which nearly all agricultural and industrial enterprises were state-controlled. During those years, the economy was based largely on heavy industry. After the fall of the Communist government in 1989, the country experienced a decade of economic stability. But starting in 2000, the economy achieved stability and high growth.

Romania’s major manufactures include steel products, machinery, transport vehicles, and chemicals. Agriculture employs about 27 percent of the labor force and accounts for 15 percent of the Gross National Product. Chief crops are corn, sugar beets, potatoes, and various grains.

Romania has the 9th largest territory and the 7th largest population (with 21.5 million) among the European Union member states. Its capital and largest city is Bucharest, the 6th largest city in the European Union with 1.9 million people.

In 2002, President Ion Iliescu of Romania, with a 134-man delegation composed mostly of businessmen, visited the Philippines. President Iliescu met with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and they discussed bilateral and international issues of mutual concern. A cooperation agreement was signed between Romania and the Philippines.

We congratulate the government and people of Romania led by Their Excellencies, President Traian Basescu and Prime Minister Emil Boc, and its Embassy in the Philippines, headed by H.E. Ambassador Valeriu Gheorghe, on the occasion of their National Day.