Romanian Prez arrives in New Delhi

NEW DELHI: Romanian President Traian Basescu arrived in New Delhi on Sunday night on a three-day visit during which the two countries will discuss ways to enhance their cooperation in political and economic fields.

The two sides will also ink some pacts during the visit.

Basescu will hold talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tomorrow in which the entire gamut of bilateral relations is expected to be discussed. Cooperation in trade, business and energy are likely to dominate the parleys.

The Romanian leader will also meet President A P J Abdul Kalam, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of the Opposition L K Advani.

Basescu will also address Indian business leaders on Monday.

Bilateral cooperation has so far covered petroleum, petrochemicals, power and metallurgy projects in India.

Romania has been involved in major Indian projects such as the oil refinery at Guwahati, the thermal power plant at Singreni, the Mangalore pelletizing plant, the Durgapur agglomeration plant and the Hyderabad tractor plant.

In 1993, an Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation was concluded, envisaging trade in hard currency.

Bilateral institutional mechanisms to promote trade and economic cooperation include Joint Commission at the Government level and Joint Business Council at the level of businessmen.

The two-way trade, which had remained stagnant for some period, has been witnessing a growth lately and stood at US $266 million in 2004.

During calendar year 2004, India-Romania trade grew by 103 per cent compared to the same period in 2003.

But both sides feel untapped opportunities remain and they are working at exploiting the potential for further growth.

They have identified information technology, pharmaceuticals, energy, metallurgy and heavy industries as sectors for special focus.