Bucharest, July 24 (IANS) The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday stated that there is huge scope to further strengthen collaboration between India and Romania in defence manufacturing.
Addressing a special media briefing in Bucharest on President Droupadi Murmu’s State Visit to Romania, MEA’s Secretary (West) Sibi George stated that more cooperation in defence manufacturing, industrial collaboration, defence technologies, maritime security and cyber security are the areas both countries can work on in the future.
He mentioned that defence cooperation is emerging as an important area of bilateral partnership as both sides welcome the growing interaction between their respective defence establishments, including the recent meeting of the Joint Committee of defence cooperation in May this year.
Secretary George noted that several Indian companies are exploring opportunities for co-development and co-production in the defence sector, including in civil and defence aeronautics and next-generation drone technologies.
He also mentioned that President Murmu thanked the government of Romania for the support extended for the evacuation of Indian students from Ukraine in 2022 during ‘Operation Ganga’ undertaken by the Indian government.
Three Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) were also signed during the visit, including in Programme on Cooperation (PoC) on science and technology for 2026-29 between the national authority for research of Romania and the Department of Science and Technology of India, which envisages the implementation of joint projects in the field of natural sciences, engineering and technology, medical and health sciences and agricultural sciences.
An MoU in the field of sports between the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and the National Sports Agency of Romania was also signed. According to the MEA Secretary, Romania has expertise in the field of sports, particularly in gymnastics and swimming, and there is good scope for collaboration in training.
President Murmu and her Romanian counterpart Nicusor Dan also discussed the fight against global terrorism.
“Romania had supported India in its fight against terrorism and strongly condemned the Pahalgam terror attack,” Secretary George noted.
President Murmu invited Romania to explore accepting India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) which would be beneficial for both trade and tourism promotion.
Romania is already a member of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), an India-led multilateral initiative and there is an ongoing cooperation under the framework of this alliance.
“The President also invited Romania to join India’s other flagship multilateral initiatives, including the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and the Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA), reflecting the growing convergence between our two countries on sustainable development priorities,” Secretary George emphasised.
President Murmu met President of the Senate of Romania Mircea Abrudean and President of the Chamber of Deputies of Romania Sorin Grindeanu at the Parliament Palace in Bucharest on Friday. She also interacted with members of the India-Romania Parliamentary Friendship Group.
“The President said that as vibrant parliamentary democracies, the two countries should deepen engagement between our parliamentary institutions. Such interactions would provide valuable opportunities to share experiences and best practices, and would contribute to further strengthening the India–Romania partnership,” the President’s Secretariat wrote on X.
The President will interact with India community on Saturday before concluding her visit to the European nation.
–IANS
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