New York, Sept 24: Romania, which becomes a member of the UN Security Council for two years from January next, has expressed its desire to further strengthening bilateral ties with India. During a half hour meeting yesterday with External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha, his Romanian counterpart Mirica Geona described India as "emerging global power" and expressed keenness to have closer ties.
Sinha reciprocated Geona's views and two ministers decided to have close diplomatic contacts and regular exchange of view on matters of interest at the United Nations. The Romanian President is likely to visit India early next year and Sinha plans to go Romanian later.
Bilateral and international issues were discussed in depth during Sinha's meeting with the Bangladesh Foreign Minister Morshed Khan.
Sinha expressed confidence that talks on free trade, scheduled for October 16, would get off to good start. They also discussed the bus service between the two countries. When Khan mentioned that there was good passenger traffic, Sinha responded that additional buses could be added.
Sinha met Sudanese minister Mustafa Osman Ismail who briefed the Indian minister on the internal situation in the country.
The two ministers discussed the cooperation between India and Sudan, which, they concluded, was progressing well in the hydro carbon sector. Bureau Report