ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE PRESS STATEMENT BY THE HON’BLE PRESIDENT DURING STATE VISIT TO ROMANIA

At the outset, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to His Excellency President Dan, the Government of Romania and the people of Romania for the warm welcome and gracious hospitality extended to me and my delegation.

It gives me great pleasure to visit Romania at the invitation of His Excellency President Dan. This is the first visit by an Indian President to Romania in more than three decades.

India and Romania have shared a warm and enduring friendship for over seven decades, founded on mutual trust, respect and strong people-to- people ties. Over the years, our partnership has steadily grown stronger and is now entering a new phase marked by greater ambition, stronger cooperation and a shared vision for the future.

Friends,

Today, President Dan and I held productive and forward-looking discussions covering all major dimensions of our bilateral partnership. We reviewed the progress made in recent years and agreed to further deepen cooperation across areas of priority for our two countries.

Economic cooperation remains an important pillar of our partnership. We agreed to promote trade and investment, strengthen resilient supply chains, and encourage closer collaboration between the business communities of our two countries. We also agreed to work towards doubling our bilateral trade over the next three years.

Romania is an important partner for India within the European Union. The conclusion of the India–EU Free Trade Agreement in January this year will open unprecedented opportunities for our industries and skilled professionals.

We agreed to expand cooperation in sectors such as manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, renewable energy, green hydrogen, agricultural products and fertilizers, science and technology, digital public infrastructure, and Artificial Intelligence by leveraging the complementary strengths of our two economies. During my visit, I will also address the India–Romania Business Forum.

Defence cooperation remains another important pillar of our partnership. We agreed to strengthen collaboration through regular exchanges, training, capacity building, and closer engagement between the defence industries of our two countries.

Friends,

Education, culture and people-to-people contacts remain the foundation of India–Romania relations, and I am pleased that today we have signed three important agreements in these areas.

We will expand joint research and development under the Programme of Cooperation in Science and Technology.

An Indian Studies Chair is being established at the University of Bucharest with the support of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). This initiative will further strengthen mutual understanding of the cultures and societies of our two countries. Through the Memorandum of Understanding signed today, we will also enhance our cooperation in the field of sports. The Government of India has decided to double the number of training opportunities for Romania under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme. These will include courses in Artificial Intelligence. Our Foreign Service Institute has also offered training opportunities to Romanian diplomats to participate in its forthcoming Professional Course for Foreign Diplomats, which will include specialised modules on Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Diplomacy.

India and Romania continue to cooperate under the International Solar Alliance, of which Romania is a member. I welcome Romania's intention to join the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and the Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA).

As India and Romania prepare to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2028, we have agreed to commemorate the occasion as the "India–Romania Year of Innovation." President Dan and I also exchanged views on regional and global developments. We reaffirmed our shared commitment to peace, dialogue and respect for international law in addressing common global challenges.

Friends,

Once again, I thank President Dan, the Government of Romania and the people of Romania for their warm hospitality. I look forward to welcoming President Dan to New Delhi in the near future.

Thank you.