Romanian President Traian Basescu told investors from the Persian Gulf on Tuesday that they'd rather see the beauty of Romania by helicopter than by car. He recommended potential investors at an economic forum in Bucharest to drive their capital towards agriculture, energy and infrastructure and said the Romanian business environment "is not a hostile one".

Basescu told Gulf investors the economic crisis was a painful lesson for Romania, showing that economic growth based solely on consumption and a real estate bubble was not healthy. He said he was a supporter of development based on education, investments and research.

And he said Romania had "formidable" possibilities for investments if one considers the development gap between the country and old EU member countries. And, according to Basescu, Romania guarantees foreign investment and the banking system did not fail during the economic crisis.

For his part, UAE trade minister Lubna Al Qasimi noted Romania proved to be a country of fast growth especially in the IT and auto sectors. And he said Gulf Council members hoped to develop the partnership in fields such as technology and scientific research, energy, agriculture, tourism, infrastructure, investments and SME support.