Background
1. India and Romania established diplomatic relations in 1954. Indo-Romanian ties were marked by fairly regular exchanges, including at the highest levels.
2. List of VVIP visits exchanged between India and Romania include:
ç 1965 President Radhakrishnan visited Romania;
ç 1973 President Giri visited Romania
ç 1967 Prime Minster Indira Gandhi visited Romania
ç 1969 President Ceausescu visited India
ç 1974 & 78 President Ceausescu made stop over visits to India
ç 1981 Prime Minister Indira Gandhi visited Romania
ç 1987 President Ceausescu visited India
ç 1991 President Iliescu made stop over visit to India
ç 1994 President Shanker Dayal Sharma visited Romania
ç 1997 President Emil Constantinescu visited India
4. At the Parliament level also, there is active contact. In May 1994, the Romanian Parliament approved the setting up of a Romanian-Indian Parliamentary Group of Friendship.
Culture:
26. India and Romania signed a Cultural Agreement in April 1957, which provided for cooperation in the fields of culture, science, education, literature and arts.
Romania, Germany, Canada, Hungary
English: Birth place of Mahatma Gandhi, Porbandar,...
Rabindranath Tagore and Gandhi in 1940.27. Following this Agreement, Cultural Exchange Programmes (CEP) were formulated and implemented. After the one that expired in December 1981, Romania, under Ceausescu, did not show any inclination to sign CEPs for ostensible reasons of economy. Subsequent to the December 1989 revolution, the new leadership indicated its interest in reviving bilateral cultural exchanges. A CEP for 1994-96 was signed during President Shanker Dayal Sharma's visit to Romania. The CEP for 1997-99 was signed during the visit to India by the Romanian President in November 1997.
28. Apart from the official framework for bilateral cultural cooperation, Romania has an academic tradition of pursuing Indian studies. In 1876, the first Sanskrit language and literature course was offered at the Bucharest University. On November 22, 2000 a Sanskrit language wing was opened in Oradea University in the North Western...