Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar.

Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar joined the National Day celebrations of Romania held at the Tuwaiq Palace here on Wednesday.

The prince joined the Romanian Ambassador Mihai Coman, who hosted the reception by cutting a cake to mark the ceremony. Coman made a brief welcome address for the guests which included senior government officials, businessmen and members of the diplomatic corps.

Romania and the Kingdom established diplomatic relations at the embassy level on March 13, 1995.

In 1996 , the Embassy of Romania was opened in Riyadh paving the way for strengthening diplomatic relations between the two countries. Following the opening of the mission, top officials of the Shoura Council and the Romanian Senate exchanged visits to the capitals of both countries.

Since 2006, ties have become closer with tangible progress seen in trade and investment. Romania, which regards Saudi Arabia as an important economic partner, is bent on deepening its relations with the Kingdom.

Romania’s major exports to Saudi Arabia include agricultural crops, inorganic chemical products, wood and wood products, paper and cardboard packaging, iron and steel products, electrical engines and appliances.

There are also several hundred Romanian engineers and technicians working in the Kingdom’s oil sector.

Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta paid a visit to the Kingdom in May 2015.

During his meeting with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, Ponta said that Romania needs partners like Saudi Arabia, “companies which should invest in agriculture,” that country being a big importer of agricultural produce.

“There is a wide interest here, in Saudi Arabia, in the capacity of Romanian companies or public institutions to participate in the development of the health system, in energy projects which are of huge dimensions in Saudi Arabia. We discussed about our interest in placing Romania on Europe’s map in point of investments, as for the time being it little known by companies in the area in fields like agriculture, energy, infrastructure and real estate investments, which have developed in other countries in the area except Romania,” the premier said.

Ponta announced that medical tourism and defense industry are other fields of interest for the Saudis in which Romania should offer conditions adequate for 2015.

In September, Minister of Environment and Water Abdul Rahman Al-Fadli held a meeting with his Romanian counterpart to boost cooperation between the two countries.

Al-Fadli, who was on a four day visit to the country, met Romanian Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Achim Irimescu in Bucharest.

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