I attended this afternoon and evening the opening session of a workshop organized at our Faculty of Economics by the International Network for Economic Research (INFER). It was attended by economists and PhD candidates from Romania, Portugal, the UK, among other countries, and was conducted entirely in English. I enjoyed the presentations of papers by three presenters, and the discussions that followed. I look forward to participating again tomorrow.
Among the highlights of the afternoon was my chance to meet Prof. PhD Paul Şerban Agachi, President of the Academic Council of UBB. Dr. Agachi is a chemical engineer who spent some years working for Chevron in the United States. He told me that he also had worked in Iraq, where he spent time both under Saddam Hussein, and after Saddam was deposed. It was interesting to hear his opinion that Iraq under Saddam had been a total disaster, that it was courageous of the United States to put him out, and that if we Americans were now to leave Iraq precipitously, it would quickly revert to chaos.
Dr. Agachi is also a fellow Road Warrior. Before leaving the U.S. he bought an old Ford camper in California, made an 11,000 mile tour of the country, and then sold it in New York.
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