India-Romania Bilateral and Economic Ties: Trade Trends and Business Opportunities in 2026

India-Romania relations are gaining momentum in 2026, driven by stronger diplomatic engagement and expanding economic linkages. The January 2026 India-EU FTA negotiations conclusion is set to unlock new avenues for trade, investment, and cross-sector collaboration.

India and Romania have intensified the pace of diplomatic engagements in 2026, reflecting a renewed focus on strengthening bilateral ties. This uptick in interactions follows the conclusion of the EU-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations on January 27, 2026, which is expected to facilitate greater market access and enable European economies, including Romania, to expand their commercial presence in India.

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India and Romania also maintain strong economic ties, supported by institutional mechanisms such as the India–Romania Joint Economic Commission, which continues to play a central role in promoting bilateral trade, investment flows, and business engagement between the two countries.

Romania–India delegation visit deepens bilateral engagement

The Embassy of Romania to India concluded a high-level visit by a Romanian economic and academic delegation from March 2-9, 2026, led by Clara Alexandra Volintiru, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania. This visit marks a notable step in advancing bilateral dialogue and expanding cooperation between Romania and India.

Bringing together representatives from diplomacy, business, academia, and cultural institutions, the delegation underscored a broad-based interest in enhancing cross-sector collaboration. A key highlight of the visit includes discussions focused on India–EU relations, sustainable economic growth, and global resilience.

Economic engagement formed a core theme of the visit, with Romanian companies across sectors such as energy, metallurgy, IT, defense, agriculture, agri-tech, and digital industries exploring opportunities through business forums and networking platforms.

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Set against the backdrop of the proposed EU-India FTA, the March 2026 visit reinforced Romania’s positioning as an active European partner and contributed to shaping a forward-looking bilateral partnership.

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India-Romania trade relations

Top exports from India to Romania include petroleum products, organic chemicals, machinery, and automotive components. Whereas Romania’s main exports to India consist of machinery and electric, medical, & scientific instruments.

The FY 2025-26 figures are a pivot from the previous years’ trend, where goods such as pharmaceuticals and optical instruments were some of the top-traded commodities.

Source: Department of Commerce, GoI

Source: Department of Commerce, GoI

Source: Department of Commerce, GoI

India and Romania Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement

The two countries have established a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) to promote economic cooperation and prevent double taxation of income earned in either country. Signed in March 1987, the DTAA aims to foster cross-border investments and trade by eliminating tax barriers.

Source: Income Tax Department, GoI; India Briefing

Foreign investments between India and Romania

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian investments in Romania are valued between US$1–1.5 billion, with prominent companies like Wipro, Dr. Reddy’s Labs, Sun Pharma, and Sunwave Pharma establishing a strong presence in the country. A notable investment occurred in April 2021, when Wipro acquired METRO Systems Romania SRL, further solidifying India’s footprint in the Romanian market.

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Conversely, Romanian investments in India come from companies such as Atlantia SPA, Saira Seats SAS, Simest SPA, Summer Conf SRL, Hanna Instruments Romania SRL, Omnia Professional SRL, FSS Activ Group SRL, STX RO Electrotulcea SRL, and Mihaela Carmen Popa.

According to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Romania’s cumulative foreign direct investments (FDI) into India are US$13.23 million between January 2000 and December 2025.

Advancing India–Romania economic cooperation

The 19th meeting of the India–Romania Joint Committee for Economic Cooperation marked a crucial development in strengthening economic ties between India and Romania, with a strong focus on labor mobility, institutional cooperation, and long-term economic alignment.

A central outcome of the dialogue, held on November 3, 2025, was the proposed development of a structured mobility pathway enabling up to 30,000 skilled Indian professionals to work in Romania annually. This initiative aligns with Romania’s growing demand for non-EU workers, estimated at around 100,000 per year, and highlights complementarities between India’s large, youthful workforce and Romania’s labor market requirements. Both sides emphasized the importance of facilitating safe, regulated, and skills-oriented migration frameworks to support economic productivity and workforce sustainability.

The discussions also underscored India’s expanding role as a global manufacturing and technology hub, alongside its increasing integration with European markets. In this context, strengthening India–EU linkages was identified as strategically important.

For Romanian businesses, India should now be viewed not merely as an export destination but as a serious market-entry and expansion play within the wider India–EU corridor. Companies that invest early in the right entry structure, local partnerships, compliance readiness, and operational localization will be best positioned to convert India’s scale into sustainable commercial advantage. Naina Bhardwaj, Associate Director, IBA, Dezan Shira & Associates-India

Beyond labor mobility, both countries agreed to deepen cooperation across education, research, innovation, and cultural exchange to support talent development and knowledge transfer. Institutional collaboration is expected to extend to areas such as recruitment systems, language and vocational training, standardized employment practices, and streamlined processing mechanisms for verified employers.

Future prospects

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India–Romania bilateral relations trajectory points toward a more diversified and strategically aligned partnership in the coming years. With the conclusion of the EU-India FTA, bilateral trade is expected to benefit from improved market access, reduced tariff barriers, and stronger regulatory alignment. This will likely encourage greater participation of Romanian firms in India’s expanding industrial and consumer markets, while also enabling Indian exporters to consolidate their presence in Eastern Europe.

Looking ahead, the evolving structure of trade, shifting from traditional sectors such as petroleum and metallurgy toward machinery, electronics, and specialized industrial goods, suggests a gradual move toward higher-value and technology-driven exchanges. This transition is expected to be supported by institutional mechanisms like the India–Romania JEC, which will continue to facilitate policy coordination and business engagement.

(This article was originally published on January 23, 2025. It was updated on May 22, 2026.)

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