President Reiterates Romania Will Return To Growth In 2010

"Though we experience a period of economic crisis, Romania is no longer the country it was five or ten years ago when it wasn't able to get past difficult economic moments," Basescu told the media at the festivities on the Army Day in Bucharest.

Admittedly, Romania had to borrow money to cope with the hard times, but the foreign aid is aimed at maintaining the central bank's reserves, Basescu said.

"We borrow money because we don't want to affect the central bank's reserve, which is at approximately EUR26 billion - EUR27 billion. All states must have forex reserves, but this doesn't mean Romania is not able to overcome the difficult economic moment and resume economic growth during 2010," Basescu concluded.

Earlier this year, Romania secured EUR12.95 billion of IMF money under a standby arrangement, part of a total EUR19.95 billion bailout aid, which also includes funds from the European Union and other international lenders.

The IMF forecasts a decline of 8%-8.5% of Romania's economy in 2009, followed by a 0.5% growth next year.

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