President of the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority (ANSVSA) Alexandru Bociu and India's ambassador to Romania, Manoj Kumar Mohapatra discussed the prospect of the signing, within short, of the veterinary health certificates required for Romania - India trade exchanges.

According to a post on the veterinary watchdog's Facebook page, the Indian ambassador paid an official visit to ANSVSA headquarters. The meeting focused on identifying concrete opportunities to strengthen bilateral cooperation, with an emphasis on facilitating trade, food safety and the use of modern technologies in the veterinary field.

'An important aspect of the dialogue concerned the prospect of the signing, within short, of the veterinary health certificates required for trade exchanges between Romania and India. India's ambassador, a veterinarian by profession, expressed confidence that this objective could be achieved rapidly, highlighting the high standards applied by the European Union in the field of food safety and the fact that Romania, as an EU member state, complies with these requirements. He also expressed his willingness to getting personally involved in speeding up the necessary procedures,' the post reads.

In this context, the Indian side is awaiting a concrete proposal from Romania regarding export products and capacities so that discussions can advance toward practical outcomes.

In his turn, the ANSVSA president emphasized the importance of seizing this opportunity swiftly, given the intensification of economic relations between India and other European countries.

The main areas of cooperation discussed included Romanian exports and trade cooperation, namely identifying animal-origin products and other food categories that could gain access to the Indian market, as well as speeding up procedures for agreeing and signing veterinary health certificates; food safety and institutional cooperation, through stronger dialogue between the competent authorities of the two countries to exchange experience and identify joint solutions for improving the efficiency of official controls; and the use of modern technologies in the veterinary field, including the exploration of advanced technological solutions for monitoring, traceability, risk prevention, and the improvement of veterinary and food safety control activities.

The exchange of expertise and best practices, as well as facilitating direct contacts between Romanian and Indian specialists, including the presentation of innovative technologies and solutions developed by Indian institutions and companies, was another topic addressed by the two officials.

'As a first concrete step, the Indian ambassador proposed organising an online meeting between specialists from the two countries, paving the way for in-person working visits. The ANSVSA president confirmed the Romanian side's willingness to submit an official proposal for organising a videoconference meeting as early as next week,' ANSVSA representatives said.

In his turn, Alexandru Bociu officially invited the diplomat to pay a working visit to reference laboratories and facilities near Bucharest.

'This initiative will provide the senior Indian official with the opportunity to see first-hand Romania's operational excellence and advanced analytical capabilities, reflected in its high performance standards and the rigour of lab tests. Through these efforts, ANSVSA aims to transform diplomatic dialogue into concrete institutional cooperation that supports access for Romanian products to new international markets and encourages the exchange of expertise and innovation in the veterinary and food safety sectors,' the post added. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Oana Tilica; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)