Minister of State for Commerce & Industry Shri Jitin Prasada is on an official visit to Bucharest at the invitation of the Government of Romania to attend the 19th meeting of the Joint Committee for Economic Cooperation (JCEC) between India and Romania.

On arrival at Henri Coandă International Airport, the Minister was received by Secretary of State, Ministry of Economy, Digitalization, Entrepreneurship and Tourism Mr. Gabriel Bogdan Ștețco, and Managing Director, Department of Foreign Trade, ARICE Mr. Sorin Mihai Toader.

During the visit, the Minister held a substantive meeting with Minister of Labour, Family, Youth and Social Solidarity H.E. Mr. Petre-Florin Manole to discuss collaboration on skills-based mobility. Shri Prasada highlighted that with over one billion people of working age and a median age of 29, India is poised to become the world’s third-largest economy by 2030. As the fastest-growing large economy, India continues to contribute to global prosperity as a trusted partner for both developed and developing nations. He noted that India, as a rapidly expanding manufacturing and technology hub, hosts nearly 45% of global capability centres and is investing heavily in frontier technologies. In this context, he underlined that stronger India–EU cooperation is more vital than ever in the evolving geopolitical and geoeconomic environment.

Both sides took note of Romania’s annual requirement for approximately 100,000 non-EU workers and expressed readiness to create a pathway for about 30,000 skilled and aspirational Indian professionals annually, aligned with Romania’s sectoral labour market needs. The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to building a strong mobility partnership between India and Romania to promote safe, orderly, regular, and responsible migration of skilled professionals—enhancing labour market connectivity for mutual benefit.

They also agreed to strengthen people-to-people ties through enhanced cooperation in higher education, research, innovation, think tanks, and cultural exchanges—aimed at fostering talent circulation, supporting skills development, and investing in future generations.

The discussions covered cooperation in recruitment, language and vocational training, standardised employment contracts, and employer obligations, along with fast-track processing for verified employers. Both sides tasked officials to explore mutual recognition of qualifications. Recognising the importance of social security certainty, they also discussed the possibility of a Totalization (Social Security) Agreement.

Both sides agreed to carry this momentum forward by activating enablers across key pillars—expanding skills mobility, deepening knowledge exchange, engaging business communities, and reinforcing institutional frameworks—ensuring that the India–Romania partnership remains integrated, resilient, and results-driven across trade, technology, and people-to-people cooperation.

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Abhishek Dayal/ Ishita Biswas

(Release ID: 2185993)