Mexico–Romania relations

Former Romanian President Nicolae Ceaușescu receiving Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge Castañeda y Álvarez de la Rosa in Bucharest, 1979.

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.[1] 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.[1] During the Second French intervention in Mexico, several Romanian soldiers participated with the French army sent by Napoleon III to assist Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico.[1]

The first official contact between Mexico and Romania was in April 1880 when 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.[2] Diplomatic relations between Mexico and Romania were officially established on 20 July 1935 in Paris between foreign ministers of both nations.[3] In 1941, former Romanian King Carol II observed Mexico's Independence Day parade alongside Mexican President Manuel Ávila Camacho.[4] On 24 December 1941, diplomatic relations were severed by Mexico when Romania joined the Axis Powers during World War II.[3]

In March 1973 diplomatic relations were re-established between both nations. Soon afterward, embassies were opened in both nations capitals respectively.[3] In September 1989, Mexico closed its embassy in Bucharest for financial reasons; however, the embassy was re-opened in 1995.[5] In 1974, Romanian President Nicolae Ceaușescu became the first Romanian head of state to pay an official visit to Mexico.[6] Since the initial visit, there have been several high-level visits between both nations. In 2015, both nations celebrated the 80th anniversary since the establishment of diplomatic relations.[7]

In February and March 2022, Mexico sent military transport planes to Romania to pick-up Mexican citizens, their Ukrainian family members and Latin-American citizens who resided and left Ukraine due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Mexican government also donated humanitarian supplies to Ukrainian refugees in Romania.[8]

Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta meeting with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto in Mexico City; 2015

High-level visits from Mexico to Romania[9]

• Foreign Minister Jorge Castañeda y Álvarez de la Rosa (1979)
• Foreign Minister Rosario Green (1999)

High-level visits from Romania to Mexico[6][10][11]

• President Nicolae Ceaușescu (1974)
• President Emil Constantinescu (2000)
• President Ion Iliescu (2002)
• Prime Minister Victor Ponta (2015)

Both nations have signed several bilateral agreements such as an Agreement on Scientific and Technical Cooperation (1974); Agreement on Cinematographic and Touristic Cooperation (1974); Agreement on Economic, Industrial, Farming and Environmental Cooperation (1974); Agreement on the Peaceful use of Nuclear Energy (1974); Agreement on Mining and Energy Cooperation (1974); Agreement on Oil and Petrochemical Cooperation (1974); Agreement on Cultural, Youth and Sports Cooperation (1999) and an Agreement on the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Tax Evasion (2001).[6][12]

In 1997, Mexico and the European Union (which includes Romania who joined the union in 2007) signed a free trade agreement. In 2018, two-way trade between both nations amounted to US$632 million.[13] 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. Mexican multinational companies Cemex and Grupo Alfa operate in Romania.[14][15]

Embassy of Romania in Mexico City

• Mexico has an embassy in Bucharest.[16]
• Romania has an embassy in Mexico City.[17]

• Romanian Mexicans