ORU Fogar Visits the Argeș Council, Romania
The Council of Argeș, Romania, invited ORU Fogar to participate in the Crafts and Traditional Products Fair ‘Rod cu Spor’, held from the 3rd to the 5th of October at the Museum of Viticulture and Fruit Tree Cultivation in Golești. This invitation is part of this province’s integration process to the organisation. An Argeș delegation, led by its Vice-president, Adrian Dumitru Bughiu, had already participated in the VI Global Forum on Local Economic Development, held in Seville, Spain, last April. The Romanian Council is inviting ORU Fogar to host the next Executive Bureau, in April 2026, in Pitești, the capital of the department.
Representing ORU Fogar were Salah El Aboudi, from the Oriental Region of Morocco, as the Executive Bureau of the Organisation, and Carles Llorens, the Secretary General. Both coincided with three other allied international delegations, also invited by Argeș: the Department of Criuleni (Republic of Moldavia), the District of Wodzislaw (Poland) and the Departmental Council of Jelgava (Latvia).
Beyond participating in the Fair, the international guests had the opportunity of visiting some of the main realisations of the Council of Argeș, from an exemplary centre dedicated to childhood attention, to the recently renovated - using European funds - Departmental Museum of Argeș. They also visited some of the region’s most significant enterprises, as they have experienced a notable leap forward since Romania’s incorporation to the European Union (EU). In addition, some of the most remarkable tourist attractions in the territory also received a visit, among which the notable .Orthodox Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. However, the biggest impression was given by the former Pitești Prison—now a museum—known as one of the most infamous sites of ‘brainwashing’ in the whole Communist Bloc.
The two ORU Fogar representatives maintained meetings with the department President, Ion Minzinà, and the Vice-President, Adrian Bughiu, in which the opportunity of hosting the April Bureau Meeting in Romania was offered. In addition, the possibility of holding a parallel seminar with rural development as the main topic was also mentioned, considering that it is of interest to Argeș, but also a well-known topic for ORU Fogar’s executive members.
El Aboudi and Llorens thanked the invitation that not only allowed for making progress in Argeș’ incorporation to ORU Fogar and the organisation of next April’s meeting,but also strengthened the organisation’s presence in Romania and Eastern Europe. They highlighted the opportunity to meet with regional delegations from Moldova, Poland and Latvia.
