India, Romania work on skilled mobility pact during Murmu's state visit

Bucharest,UPDATED: Jul 25, 2026 00:26 IST

India and Romania are working towards an agreement on the movement of skilled professionals for mutual benefit, a top Indian diplomat said on Friday during President Droupadi Murmu's state visit to Romania. The two sides also discussed expanding cooperation in trade, technology, tourism, talent, defence and digital public infrastructure.

Briefing reporters in Bucharest, Sibi George, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs, said the visit was significant for strengthening India's engagement with central and eastern Europe and with Europe more broadly. He said the two countries reviewed ties across a wide range of sectors and discussed ways to deepen economic and strategic cooperation.

George said both sides had discussed economic cooperation and the possibility of Indian skilled professionals working in Romania to meet local demand. "Accordingly, the two sides are working towards finalisation of Mobility Partnership Agreement (MPA) for movement of skilled professionals for mutual benefit. This was one of the topics of detailed discussion during the delegation level talks at (both the Romanian president and) the prime minister level," he said. He added that there is "a huge interest for Indian human resources in Romania". During the Bilateral Joint Economic Committee meeting held in November 2025 in Bucharest, the two sides had also discussed economic cooperation and the possibility of Indian skilled professionals working in Romania in view of the demand there, he said.

He said India and Romania also discussed cooperation in Digital Public Infrastructure. Murmu invited her Romanian counterpart, President Nicusor Dan, to explore accepting India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI), saying it would help promote both trade and tourism. George said that in all three countries visited by the President - Moldova, North Macedonia and Romania - the host nations had proposed ways to improve connectivity, especially air links. "Lots of tourists travel to Indian and also from India. One of the reasons for this is Indian movies. So there is growing interest to get more tourists and also Indian students," he said. On direct connectivity, George said, "it (direct connectivity) is in our wish list" and added that it remains a work in progress.

George said defence cooperation is emerging as an important pillar of the bilateral partnership. "There is huge scope to further strengthen cooperation in defence manufacturing, industrial collaboration, defence technologies, maritime security and cybersecurity," he said. 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 said. He also said an Indian company has partnered with a Romanian company for investment in explosive production.

According to George, the two presidents also discussed cooperation in the fight against terrorism. "Both presidents also discussed cooperation in fight against terrorism. Romania has supported India in the fight against terrorism and had strongly condemned the Pahalgam terror attack," he said. He said the two nations reviewed bilateral cooperation in sectors including trade and investment, defence, renewable energy, digital technologies, science and technology, IT, critical minerals, fertilisers, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, education, sports, culture and mobility.

George said Romania's membership of the European Union offers significant scope for Indian companies to produce for both the domestic and wider European markets. "With the presence of around 1,000 companies in Romania (560 directly registered and 500 more registered in other European countries but operating from Romania) will create long term opportunities," he said. He added that Romania is a key Black Sea state and an important logistics and connectivity hub. Because of its geostrategic location and transport and energy corridors, Romania is keen to position itself as a gateway for Indian businesses to the wider European region, he said.

Summing up the visit, George said it reaffirmed the importance India attaches to its partnership with Romania and would give fresh momentum to bilateral engagement, India's engagement with the EU and cooperation at multilateral forums. He said the visit opens a new chapter in India-Romania relations and added, "Overall, the visit marked an important milestone in India-Romania relations, a new chapter underscoring our shared commitment to building a modern, forward-looking and comprehensive partnership."

With PTI Inputs

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