About Us Bilateral-Romania

Embassy of India

Bucharest

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India-Romania Bilateral Relations

          India and Romania established diplomatic relations in 1948, and raised it to Ambassadorial level in 1968.

Political Relations

          Bilateral political relations between India and Romania are warm and friendly. The two countries celebrated 70 years of diplomatic relations in 2018.   India and Romania regularly support each other on several multilateral issues and work in tandem at the UN and other international organizations. Foreign Office Consultations have been instituted to review bilateral relations.          

Bilateral Visits

          State Visit of President Traian Basescu to India in October 2006 created many opportunities for enhanced co-operation and understanding and was a turning point in our bilateral relations. Mr. Titus Corlatean, then Romanian Foreign Minister visited India in March 2013 and met then EAM and MoS (PK). During the visit, an Agreement on Extended Partnership was signed. In addition, the DTAA was signed during his visit. Grapini, then Minister Delegate for SMEs, Business Environment, Tourism visited India in April 2013.  Mr. Sorin Encutescu, State Counsellor for Defence & Security Issues (Deputy NSA) in the PM’s Office visited India in November 2014. Then Foreign Minister of Romania, Mr. Teodor Viorel Melescanu, paid an official visit to India on 24 -27 November 2018.

          Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, then MOS (C&I) visited Bucharest in February 2012 for the 17th Session of India-Romania Joint Economic Commission, which was co-chaired by then Romanian Minister for Economy, Trade and Business Environment, Mr. Ion Ariton. Mrs. Preneet Kaur, then MoS for External Affairs visited Romania for bilateral consultations in April 2010. Minister of State in the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Mrs. Krishna Raj paid a goodwill visit to Romania from 12-16 November 2016.  Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Minister of Civil Aviation visited Romania from 1-7 March 2022 as Special Envoy of PM for Operation Ganga. He called on PM of Romania, Mr. Nicolae Ciuca and had an online meeting with Vice PM and Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Mr. Sorin Grindeanu.

          The last high-level visit to Romania from India was on 18-20 September 2018 when former Vice President (VP) of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu visited Romania. VP visited Romania at the invitation of President of  Senate of Romania – Mr. Calin Popescu Tariceanu. Prior to this, in 2005, then Vice President Shri Bhairon Singh Shekhawat had visited Romania. VP's visit coincided with the 70th year of establishment of our diplomatic relations, centenary year of birth of modern Romania and 5th year of signing of the ‘Framework Agreement on Extensive Partnership Cooperation,’ between our two countries. VP inaugurated an AYUSH Information Cell and also released a book on Ayurveda.   During the visit, a MoU between Ministry of Tourism of India and the Ministry of Tourism of Romania on Cooperation in the Field of Tourism was signed.

Parliamentary Visits

          An Indian Parliamentary delegation led by Smt. Sushma Swaraj, then Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Health and Family Welfare, visited Romania in June 2003. Romanian Senate President Vacaroiu led a multi-party delegation to India in December 2003.  The Romanian Parliament has created its friendship group for India. It is chaired by Mrs. Claudia-Mihaela Banu. A virtual meeting between Parliamentarians took place in June 2022. Ana Birchall, then Chairperson of Romania-India Parliamentary Friendship Group visited India in April 2013. An all party parliamentary delegation led by Mr. Zgonea, then President of the Chamber of Deputies of Parliament of Romania visited India in December 2014.

Agreements

          Recently signed important agreements include:

(i)       MoU between Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of India and Ministry of Tourism of Romania on Cooperation in the Field of Tourism.

(ii)       Joint Statement on establishing an Extensive Partnership between India and Romania.

(iii)      Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of Romania on Exemption of Visa Requirement for Holders of Diplomatic Passports.

(iv)      Cultural Exchange Programme between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of Romania for the period 2022-2027.

JECs and JWGs

           The 17th session of the India-Romania Joint Committee for Economic Cooperation (JEC) was held in Bucharest on 1-2 February 2012. The Indian delegation was led by then MoS for Commerce & Industry, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia. The Romanian side was led by Mr. Ion Ariton, then Minister of Economy, Trade and Business Environment.

           The 18th Session of the India-Romania Joint Economic Committee (JEC) was held in New Delhi on 7 April 2017. The Joint Protocol was signed by the two sides after the meeting. 

           Maria Grapini, then Romanian Minister-delegate for SMEs, Business Environment and Tourism, visited India in April 2013.

FOCs

           Former Secretary (West), Shri Vikas Swarup, and State Secretary in the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Cornel Feruta, held virtual consultations on 17 June 2020 for a comprehensive review of the bilateral relations. Virtual Foreign Office Consultations between India and Romania were held on 27 Oct 2020 at JS/DG level - From India JS (CE), Ms. Neeta Bhushan, and from Romania Mr. Radu Safta, Director General for Global Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Romania, led the consultations. Ambassador of India to Romania and Ambassador of Romania to India also participated in the consultations.

           4th Foreign Office Consultations between India and Romania were held on 14 November 2022 in New Delhi at JS/DG level – from India JS(CE) Shri Arun Kumar Sahu , and from Romania, Ms. Olivia Toderean, Director General for Global Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Romania led the consultations.

Bilateral Trade between India and Romania

            India-Romania trade statistics for the last five years are as follows:

 

2017-18

2018-19

2019-20

2020-21

    2021-22       

2022-23

Export

398.90

430.30

316.64

371.84

592.74

744.44 

Import

411.72

315.29

227.19

193.97

263.10

562.21

TOTAL

810.62

745.59

543.83

 565.81

855.84

1306.65

                                      (Department of Commerce, Govt. of India statistics in US$ million)

          Main Indian exports to Romania include vehicles other than railway or tramway, electrical machinery and equipment, nuclear reactors, boilers, electrical machinery and equipment, iron and steel, plastic and articles thereof, rubber and articles thereof organic chemicals, ceramic products, pharmaceutical products. Main Indian imports from Romania include nuclear reactors, boilers and machinery, edible vegetables and certain roots and tubers, inorganic chemicals, organic or inorganic compounds of precious metals, vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling stock, organic chemicals, electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof, articles of iron or steel, optical, photographic cinematographic measuring, checking precision, medical or surgical installations, iron and steel, rubber and articles thereof.

Indian Investments in Romania

           Indian investment in Romania is estimated to be in the range of USD 1-1.5 billion. Major companies like Wipro, Infosys, TCS, Arcelor-Mittal SA, SunPharma, Dr. Reddy’s Labs, UCO Raymonds, Sunwave Pharma, Repower Systems, Thakral Group, FERCO Group, Prodigy, Prime Healthcare, Transdanube Industries, Evaluserve, Asmita S.A., GHCL Limited, CineGrand, are present in Romania.

Romanian investments in India

           Romanian companies such as Altantia SPA, Saira Seats SAS, Simest SPA, Summer Conf SRL, Hanna Instruments Romania SRL, Omnia Professional SRL, FSS Activ Group SRL, STX RO Electroturlcea SRL, Mihaela Carmen Popa, Jan Joost Kotte, Chistina Veronica Garlasu and Rulmentul Berlad have invested in India.  

ITEC and Other Exchanges

             Till date, Romania has utilised over 110 ITEC slots. In 2022-23, 12 Romanian participants attended various ITEC programmes in India. Romanian diplomats have also attended various courses conducted by SSIFS.  One Romanian diplomat attended the 5th Special Course for Diplomats from ASEM Countries conducted by SSIFS in October 2019.  One diplomat from Romanian Foreign Ministry was nominated to attend 3rd Annual Disarmament and International Security Affairs Fellowship Programme at SSIFS, New Delhi from 14 March-01 April 2022. The course was postponed. Scholarships under the ICCR programmes have also been offered to Romania. 4 MPs and 1 Mayor participated ICCR’s Gen Next Democracy Programme from 05-14 September 2022 at New Delhi. One    diplomat from Romanian Diplomatic Institute participated in 48th Annual Meeting of the International Forum on Diplomatic Training (IFDT) in New Delhi from 14-18 November 2022.

Cultural Cooperation

              India and Romania signed a Cultural Agreement in 1957, which provided for cooperation in culture, science, education, literature and arts. Following this Agreement, Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP) were formulated and implemented. On 1 July 2022, the Cultural Exchange Programme between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of Romania was signed for the period 2022-2027. ICCR-sponsored dance troupes have been visiting Romania every year and performing at various cities to an appreciative audience. Embassy of India, Bucharest has been collaborating with local cultural groups such as Rabindra Nath Tagore Cultural Centre, Bucharest to organise “Namaste India” festival, which has become an annual affair and has become extremely popular in Romania.  Similarly, International Day of Yoga is being regularly celebrated in Romania every year since 2015 and is being attended by a growing number of people. The 8th International Day of Yoga 2022 was celebrated at Bucharest, Oradea, Medias, Cluj, Targu Mures, Sibiu and Brasov cities in Romania. Ayurveda is practiced by an increasing number of doctors and experts in Romania. AMN Romania regularly organises Ayurveda events. The first Ayush Information Cell in Bucharest was inaugurated in April 2021. Cluj Centre for India Studies is located in Babes-Bolyai University, one of the leading universities of Romania and the Romania-India Study Center is located in Romanian-American University in Bucharest.

Indian Community

            The Indian community in Romania, including NRIs and PIOs, numbers around 6000, including approx. 4900 workers. Recently, there has been a considerable increase in the number of Indian workers joining construction and other sectors in Romania. There are about 100 Indian students attending courses in Romanian institutions, mainly pursuing medicine on a self-financing basis at Timisoara, Oradea, Bucharest, and Iasi. Others are businessmen, professionals and technical specialists. There are four Indian restaurants in Bucharest, one in Timisoara and one in Galati.

 

May 2023

 



                                                    

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