Bucharest [Romania], July 24 (ANI): India and Romania on Thursday underlined economic cooperation as key pillar of the bilateral partnership and set a target to double bilateral trade in the next three years while also agreeing to expand cooperation in important sectors such as pharmaceuticals, renewable energy and agriculture.

This comes as President Murmu arrived in Romania on a historic visit--the first in three decades by an Indian President.

President Murmu shared the details in her remarks to the press after the two countries inked Memoranda of Understanding in the fields of science & technology, sports and culture.

Noting how India and Romania have had a close and lasting friendship based on mutual trust, respect and strong people-to-people relations for more than seven decades. She said that over time, the partnership has continuously strengthened and is now entering a new phase with more ambitious goals, strong cooperation and a shared vision for the future.

'Economic cooperation is an important pillar of our partnership. We will promote trade and investment, strengthen the supply chain and agreed to encourage close cooperation between the industries of both countries. We have also set a target to double bilateral trade in the next three years,' President Murmu said.

She further noted, 'We agreed to expand cooperation in areas such as manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, health, renewable energy, green hydrogen, agricultural production and fertilizers, science and technology, digital public infrastructure and AI. This cooperation will move forward taking advantage of the complementary capabilities of both our economies.'

President Murmu noted that Defence Cooperation is also an important pillar of the partnership and that the two countries agreed to further strengthen the partnership in this field through regular exchange, training, capacity building and close cooperation between the defense industries of both countries.

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 the ongoing cooperation between India and Romania under the International Solar Alliance, and welcomed Romania's intention to join the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and the Global Biofuels Alliance.

Murmu informed that when India and Romania complete 80 years of their diplomatic relations in the year 2028, then the two nations have agreed to celebrate this occasion as India-Romania Year of Innovation.

The leaders also exchanged views on regional and global developments and reiterated the shared commitment to peace, dialogue and international law so that global challenges can be dealt with effectively.

She expressed thanks to Romania for the warm hospitality and looked forward to welcoming President Dan to India.

'I hope that soon I will get a chance to welcome President Dan in New Delhi.'

Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X that President Droupadi 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.'

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She was accorded a ceremonial welcome and the Guard of Honour at the Cotroceni Palace in Bucharest.

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Three MoUs for bilateral cooperation in the field of science & technology, sports and establishment of Chair of Indian Studies at University of Bucharest were signed on the occasion.

President Nicusor Dan called it a 'historic' visit by President Murmu to Romania and noted how the two countries have a very old and long-standing partnership, with many new opportunities ahead of them, especially in the economic field.

He added, '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.'

In his concluding remarks, he thanked President Murmu for her visit to Romania 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)