Romanians and the U.S. Visa Waiver Program: An Interview with Aldous Mina
Aldous Mina was born in 1979 and grew up in Norfolk, Virginia. He is a graduate of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia (B.S., International Business) and American InterContinental University/AIU in Schaumburg/Chicago, Illinois (MBA, International Business). He received international business training in the United Kingdom (England/London, Scotland, Wales), Ireland (Dublin) and Israel (Jerusalem).
Mr. Mina worked for the U.S. Peace Corps in Romania (economic development specialist, 2008), World Bank (financial analyst, 2011). He has served in the federal government in both Republican and Democratic administrations in Washington, DC (financial analyst and auditor, White House’s initiative on the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act) and private sector (contractor, Booz Allen Hamilton, Northrop Gruman, Maersk and Maximus, Premier Global Council Group).
He is the author of four books on global markets and faceconomics.
During the period of October 3 and 4, 2019, Aldous Mina attended the annual ALIANŢA/The Alliance Gala, in Washington, DC, at the Conrad Hotel and the Romanian Embassy, respectively.
On October 4, 2019, the Alianţa organization announced the launching of a new initiative, The Visa Waiver for Romanians, in order to support efforts in the U.S. Congress to end discrimination in the U.S. Visa system against Romanian citizens. Currently, Romania is one of only four European Union countries which are not part of the U.S. Visa Waiver program, which allows EU citizens to visit the U.S. without a visa.
With that occasion, Mr. Mina granted me an exclusive interview.
1. Mr. Al Mina, you will be running for the U.S. Senate for Virginia in 2020 and you also, from what I understand, have served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Romania a while ago.
Yes, Sir.
2. Romania is one of the only four EU members currently excluded from the U.S. Visa Waiver Program. Can you tell us more about the advocacy campaign to allow Romanians to visit the United States without a visa?
I think their advocacy initiative comes in many tier-and-levels of, you know, domestic and international policy for the U.S. It builds up on the relevance of an interaction among people groups, Romanians and Americans, to learn from one another and increase our understanding of that culture and community. Because America is going through a transitional period. Every single one of us came to America, you know, from various parts of the world. And we need to be able to explain to the world that, if we are going to be at that leadership position as a country, we have to embrace everyone. You know, especially Romanians that are willing to contribute here, and want us to be a part of their community. I was a former Peace Corps volunteer in Romania and everyone there embraced me, loved me, and shared their cultures with me. So, I think, this is a perfect time. Yes, it’s just… I’m all for it, if there’s more than I can do, I will definitely want to partake in it.
3. Very nice, Sir.
Sure.
4. The next question: in your opinion, what do Romania and Romanians have to do to make this U.S. Visa Waiver Program an achievable objective?
Well, there has to be a will to be a part of this. And I think, it’s not difficult to be a part of this [Visa] Waiver initiative if we can convince the U.S. government, as well as our communities, that it’s timely. You know, for the longest time, Romania has been a part of the European Union for since 2007. And yet we haven’t given them access to the U.S. market, just as we have given access to people from France, Portugal, Spain, and UK to come to the U.S. So, you know, in order for us to extend a leaf of diplomacy to the Romanian public, as well as to the Romanian government, we should acknowledge the fact that they are our partners within the alliance, the NATO Protocol, they are a part of the NATO alliance country, and therefore we should give them access and opportunity to learn about us, Americans, and, hopefully, they can take that back, they can take that experience back to Romania and help them influence their local community in Romania, to understand how Americans are. Because there are still a lot of gap within culture. And, so, this is a perfect timing. And I am all for it.
5. Thank you so much. The last question: Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has met with American President Donald Trump twice, in June 2017 and in August 2019, and every time the U.S. Visa Waiver was a topic of discussion.
Right.
6. How do you think this issue will be eventually resolved?
Well, you know, politicians have their own thing. Unfortunately, they don’t fully understand the dynamics and ramifications of their actions and the trajectory of those actions after they leave office. Therefore, it’s up to us, as local citizens, to identify the potential and the value within that collaboration. And for me, my initiatives in Romania have always been in economic development. Because I’ve seen the potential in Romania, I’ve done interviews throughout Romania, where I’ve explained and underlined the process of developing a structure for foreign direct investment, market creation, and, you know, economic development. So, I think, if we were to, you know, foresee the future, if we were to look at a magic eight ball, I think Romania is going to be one of the countries that is going to be at the top within that region in terms of economic development and, you know, the list of emerging markets to look at, and pay attention to.
7. Thank you so much. All you have said was very, very encouraging. Thank you so much.
Thank you, Sir. I appreciate your help.
8. You are welcome.
Yes.
(October 18, 2019)
NOTE — Versions of the article were published in:
AMERICAN THINKER (El Cerrito/San Francisco, California) [+ comments]
***
and
CARIBBEAN NEWS GLOBAL (Brooklyn/New York City, New York) [+ views, comments]
***
and
CARIBBEAN NEWS NOW! (Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas) [ comments]
***
and
CONSERVATIVE READ (Scottsdale/Phoenix, Arizona) [ comments]
***
and
INTELLECTUAL CONSERVATIVE (Phoenix, Arizona) [ comments]
and
MARIANAS VARIETY (Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands) [ comments]
and
MEDIUM (San Francisco, California) [100+ views; comments; 100+ likes]
and
SAIPAN TRIBUNE (Garapan/Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands) [ comments]
***
and featured in:
320ro.com (Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom) [ comments]
***
and
ACCENT (Toronto, Canada) [in Romanian] [ comments]
***
and
ACTIVE BOARD
***
and
AFRO-CONSCIOUS MEDIA (Canada; Long Beach, California) [ comments]
***
and
ALTERNATIVA/THE ALTERNATIVE (Toronto, Canada) (_________ 2018) [in Romanian] [NOTE = scroll down on the journal’s home page to get the article and then press OPEN on the article]
***
and
ARMONIA/THE HARMONY (Hickory/Charlotte, North Carolina) [in Romanian] [ comments]
***
and also
ARMONIA MAGAZINE/THE HARMONY MAGAZINE (Hickory/Charlotte, North Carolina) [in Romanian] [ comments]
***
and
BLUNT FORCE TRUTH (Detroit, Michigan) [ comments]
***
and
BURNING PLATFORM [ comments]
***
and
CARIBBEAN POST (Santiago, Dominican Republic) [ comments]
***
and
CLICK ROMANIA (London, United Kingdom) [in Romanian] [ comments]
***
and
CURENTUL/THE CURRENT (Chişinău, Republic of Moldova) [in Romanian] [ comments]
***
and
CURENTUL INTERNAŢIONAL/THE INTERNATIONAL CURRENT (Sterling Heights/Detroit, Michigan) [in Romanian] [ comments]
***
and
FIWEH (Okinawa, Japan) [ comments]
***
and
FREE REPUBLIC (Fresno, California) [ comments]
***
and
GÂNDACUL DE COLORADO/THE COLORADO BEETLE (Estes Park/Denver, Colorado) [in Romanian] [ + views; comments]
***
and
GOP BRIEFING ROOM [ + views; comments]
***
and
INVESTORS HUB (London, United Kingdom) [ comments]
***
and
JURNAL DE CHIŞINĂU/CHIŞINĂU JOURNAL (Chişinău, Republic of Moldova) [in Romanian] [ comments]
***
and
LUCIANNE.COM (Cliffside Park, New Jersey) [ + comments]
***
and
LUMEA ROMÂNEASCĂ/THE ROMANIAN WORLD (Grand Rapids, Michigan) [in Romanian]
***
and
MENAFN (Amman, Jordan)
***
and
MERIDIANUL ROMÂNESC/THE ROMANIAN MERIDIAN (Santa Clarita/Los Angeles, California) [in Romanian]
***
and
MEXICAN OCCUPATION
***
and
MIORIŢA USA (Sacramento, California) [in Romanian]
***
and also
MIORIŢA USA (Sacramento, California), printed edition [in Romanian]
***
and
MOLDOVA9/NEW MOLDOVA (Chişinău, Republic of Moldova) [in Romanian] [ comments]
***
and
MOLDOVA ŞTIRI/MOLDOVA NEWS (Chişinău, Republic of Moldova) [in Romanian] (300+ views; comments]
***
and
MORNING IN ARIZONA [ comments]
***
and
NAŢIUNEA/THE NATION (Bucharest, Romania) [in Romanian] [ comments]
***
and
NEW YORK MAGAZIN/NEW YORK MAGAZINE (New York City, New York) [in Romanian] [ comments]
***
and
OBSERVATORUL/THE OBSERVER (Toronto, Canada) [in Romanian]
***
and
OCCIDENTUL ROMÂNESC/ROMANIAN WEST (Madrid, Spain)
***
and
OFICIAL/OFFICIAL (Chişinău, Republic of Moldova) [in Romanian] [ comments]
***
and
PARADIGMS AND DEMOGRAPHICS (Cleveland, Ohio) [ comments]
***
and
PROTECTORS OF LIBERTY (Mount Pleasant, Michigan) [ comments]
***
and
QOSHE (Netherlands & Turkey)
***
and
QWIKET (Kingston, New York) [ comments]
***
and
ROMANIA JOURNAL (Bucharest, Romania) [ + views; comments]
***
and
ROMANIAN TIMES (Portland, Oregon) [in Romanian]
and also
ROMANIAN TIMES (Portland, Oregon) (print edition, pp. and ) [in Romanian]
***
and
SAVE AMERICA FOUNDATION (Clearwater, Florida)
***
and
TAPATALK (Santa Monica/Los Angeles, California) [ comments]
***
and
TIMP ROMÂNESC/ROMANIAN TIME (Bucharest, Romania) [in Romanian] [ comments]
***
and
TRIBUNA/THE TRIBUNE (Chişinău, Republic of Moldova) [ comments]
***
and also
TRIBUNA/THE TRIBUNE (Chişinău, Republic of Moldova) [in Romanian] [ comments]
***
and
TRIBUNA ROMÂNEASCĂ/ROMANIAN TRIBUNE (Chicago, Illinois) [in Romanian] [ comments]
***
and
TRULY TIMES [ + views, comments]
***
and
TRUMP’S MINUTEMEN (Fort Worth, Texas)
***
and
UNIMEDIA (Chişinău, Republic of Moldova) [in Romanian] [ + views, comments]
***
and
US POLITICS 10z [ comments]
***
and
ZIARUL DE GARDĂ/THE GUARD NEWSPAPER (Chişinău, Republic of Moldova) [in Romanian]
***
and referenced in:
CENTRUL DE PRESĂ — PRESSPEDIA/THE PRESS CENTER — PRESSPEDIA (Bucharest, Romania) [in Romanian] [+ views]
***
and
CURENTUL INTERNAŢIONAL/INTERNATIONAL CURRENT — FACEBOOK (Sterling Heights/Detroit, Michigan) [in Romanian]
***
and
HUMAN RIGHTS QUARTERLY (Cincinnati, Ohio)
***
and
LIBERAL FORUM
***
and
MUCK RACK (New York, New York)
***
and
OBAMA LIES
***
and
PRESS RUSH (Turku, Finland)
***
and
THY BLACK MAN [ comments]
***
and
ZENITH NEWS (Duluth, Minnesota)
***
NUMBER OF PUBLICATIONS = 3
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