Bucharest, Romania, July 24 (ANI): India and Romania on Thursday identified economic cooperation as a key pillar of their bilateral partnership and set a target to double bilateral trade over the next three years while agreeing to expand collaboration in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, renewable energy, and agriculture.
The announcement came as President Droupadi Murmu arrived in Romania on a historic visit, the first by an Indian President to the country in three decades.
President Murmu shared details of the discussions in her remarks to the press after the two countries signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) in the fields of science and technology, sports, and culture.
Highlighting the longstanding relationship between the two nations, President Murmu said India and Romania have shared a close friendship based on mutual trust, respect, and strong people-to-people ties for more than seven decades. She said the partnership has continued to grow and is now entering a new phase with more ambitious goals, stronger cooperation, and a shared vision for the future.
“Economic cooperation is an important pillar of our partnership. We will promote trade and investment, strengthen supply chains, and encourage closer cooperation between industries of both countries. We have also set a target to double bilateral trade in the next three years,” President Murmu said.
She added, “We agreed to expand cooperation in areas such as manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, renewable energy, green hydrogen, agricultural production and fertilizers, science and technology, digital public infrastructure, and AI. This cooperation will move forward by taking advantage of the complementary capabilities of both our economies.”
President Murmu noted that defense cooperation is another important pillar of the partnership and said both countries agreed to further strengthen collaboration through regular exchanges, training, capacity building, and closer cooperation between their defense industries.
She added, “The Government of India has decided to double the training opportunities under the ITEC program for Romania. These will also include courses related to AI. Our foreign service institute has provided training opportunities for Romanian diplomats to participate in the upcoming professional course. These programs will also include special training on AI and cyber diplomacy.”
President Murmu welcomed ongoing cooperation between India and Romania under the International Solar Alliance and appreciated Romania’s intention to join the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and the Global Biofuels Alliance.
She also announced that when India and Romania complete 80 years of diplomatic relations in 2028, the two countries will celebrate the occasion as the India-Romania Year of Innovation.
The leaders exchanged views on regional and global developments and reiterated their shared commitment to peace, dialogue, and international law to address global challenges effectively.
President Murmu thanked Romania for its warm hospitality and expressed hope of welcoming Romanian President Nicusor Dan to India soon.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X that President Murmu held productive discussions with President Nicusor Dan of Romania.
“The two leaders reviewed the full spectrum of bilateral cooperation and explored ways to further strengthen collaboration in areas of mutual interest,” Jaiswal said.
President Murmu was accorded a ceremonial welcome and received a Guard of Honour at the Cotroceni Palace in Bucharest.
Three MoUs were signed during the visit covering cooperation in science and technology, sports, and the establishment of a Chair of Indian Studies at the University of Bucharest.
President Nicusor Dan described President Murmu’s visit as “historic” and highlighted the long-standing partnership between the two countries, while pointing to new opportunities, particularly in the economic sector.
“We are very pleased that a lot of Indian investment has come to Romania and today we discussed how we can further increase the investment between India and Romania. In this, we also talked about direct flights between India and Romania,” Dan said.
In his concluding remarks, he thanked President Murmu for her visit and said, “I believe your visit has made a new beginning in our bilateral relations and I am fully confident that we will continue and strengthen our cooperation ahead, both personally and between our two countries.” (ANI)
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