Romania opens doors to 30,000 skilled Indian professionals annually

India and Romania have agreed to establish a formal pathway to enable the annual entry of up to 30,000 skilled Indian professionals to meet the European nation’s labour market requirements, the Commerce and Industry Ministry said on Monday.

The understanding was reached during the 19th meeting of the India–Romania Joint Committee for Economic Cooperation (JCEC) held in Bucharest, which was co-chaired by Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada and Romania’s Minister of Economy, Digitalization, Entrepreneurship and Tourism.

During his visit, Prasada also met Romania’s Minister of Labour, Family, Youth and Social Solidarity, Petre-Florin Manole, where both sides discussed collaboration on skills-based mobility and mutual recognition of qualifications, the ministry said in a statement.

Romania, which requires about 100,000 non-EU workers annually, has expressed readiness to create a pathway for around 30,000 skilled and aspirational Indian professionals each year, the statement said.

The ministers reaffirmed their commitment to building a strong mobility partnership to promote safe, orderly and regular migration of skilled professionals, enhancing labour market connectivity for mutual benefit, it added.

They also discussed cooperation in recruitment, language and vocational training, standardised employment contracts, and fast-track processing for verified employers. The two sides agreed to explore the possibility of a Totalization Agreement to ensure social security benefits for workers.

Prasada highlighted India’s growing role as a global skills and technology hub, noting that with a median age of 29 and a working-age population of over a billion, the country is well placed to become the world’s third-largest economy by 2030.

Both sides agreed to expand cooperation in higher education, research, innovation and cultural exchanges to strengthen people-to-people ties and promote the circulation of talent.

The minister’s visit aimed to deepen bilateral engagement across trade, investment, technology, and mobility, and to position India–Romania relations as a key component of the broader India–EU partnership, the statement said.