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Mexico–Romania relations refers to the diplomatic relations between Mexico and Romania.
Contents
History
Knowledge of Mexico in Romania goes back to the early sixteenth century when a series of manuscripts on pre-Columbian priests and cultures circulated in Romania. In the seventeenth century, maize (originally a crop from Mexico) was introduced to Romania and in subsequent centuries, Romania would become one of the largest producers of the crop.
The first official contact between Mexico and Romania was in April 1880 when then Prince Carol I of Romania sent a letter to Mexican President Porfirio Díaz informing him of Romania's independence from the Ottoman Empire by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. Diplomatic relations between both nations were officially established on 20 July 1935 in Paris between foreign ministers of both nations. On 24 December 1941, diplomatic relations were severed by Mexico when Romania joined the axis powers during World War II. It wasn't until March 1973 that diplomatic relations would be re-established between both nations. Soon afterwards, embassies were opened in both nations capitals respectively. In September 1989, Mexico closed its embassy in Bucharest for financial reasons; however, the embassy was re-opened in 1995.
In 1974, Romanian President Nicolae Ceaușescu became the first Romanian head of state to pay an official visit to Mexico. During his visit, both nations signed bilateral agreements on:
In 2012, approximately 10,000 Romanian citizens visited Mexico while at the same time, over 3,000 Mexican citizens visited Romania for touristic purposes. In 2015, both nations celebrated the 80th anniversary since the establishment of diplomatic relations.
State visits
Presidential and Prime Ministerial visits from Romania to Mexico
As of yet, no Mexican President has visited Romania.
Trade
In 1997, Mexico and the European Union (which includes Romania who joined the union in 2007) signed a free trade agreement. In 2014, two-way trade between both nations amounted to $486 million USD. Mexico's main exports to Romania include: building materials, automobile parts, paper, beer and tequila. Romania's main exports to Mexico include: cylinders, circuits, automobile parts and fiber optic cables.