Shekhawat in Romania when bilateral
economic ties are on upswing
Bucharest, Oct. 2, 2005
PTI
Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, is on a four-day
visit to this former Communist nation at a time when
Indo-Romanian economic ties are on the upswing with
Bucharest turning into a key investment destination
ahead of its scheduled accession to the EU in January
2007.
Shekhawat, who arrived here last evening, would meet
top Romanian leaders, including President Traian Basescu,
Prime Minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu and Economy
and Commerce Minister Ioan-Codrut Seres.
His visit has come at a time when Romania, with whom
India has close friendly ties, is becoming an attractive
place for greenfield investors and a number of Indian
industrialists and businessmen, including NRI steel
tycoon L N Mittal, as also Mahindra and Mahindra,
making key investments.
Romania's accession to the EU will be a significant
move as it would become a critical access point --
a springboard -- due to its geo-strategic location.
For India, the gains could be many as the European
community is its largest trading partner, officials
point out.
Bucharest has been a votary of New Delhi being made
a permanent member of the UN Security Council and
has been supportive of its position on the Kashmir
issue.
Indian investments in Romania including those by
NRIs, include Mittal's buying of a majority share
in the massive SIDEX steel plant which contributes
nearly five per cent of the East European country's
GDP and is the largest in the South-East Europe.
Mahindra and Mahindra is in the process of
acquiring Tractorul, the biggest maker of tractors,
for expanding its business in Europe. Besides Mahindras
are also planning entry into tourism and eco-tourism
sector through Club Mahindra. Some of the Tata companies,
including Erreka Forbes, have found Romania an attractive
destination.
There are a large number of opportunities for closer
trade links in the fields of pharma, oil, Information
Technology and engineering goods.
The Indo-Romanian trade is doubling each year for
the last few years and is set to touch half-a-billion-dollars
this year on the back of a booming economy.
Romania's growth rate is five per cent, which is
much more than the countries in the region.
Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar,
had visited Romania recently along with a business
delegation and had said that his mission was to re-launch
Indo-Romanian cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector.
Romania, which had in the past when it was a Communist
country, had helped India in petroleum, petroleum
products, power and metallurgy sector, is currently
witnessing a reverse flow from India, which has now
emerged as a major global player in the wake of the
economic reforms.
They have also signed an MoU on cooperation in the
Information Technology sector.
The two countries are also talking in terms of taking
up joint ventures in third countries.
