The nations of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

first established contact in 1880, however, diplomatic relations between both nations were officially established in 1935. Relations were severed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and re-established in 1973 and have continued unabated since.México - Rumania a lo largo de la historia (in Spanish)
/ref> Both nations are mutual members of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

and the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and ...

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 Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...

(originally a crop from Mexico) was introduced to Romania and in subsequent centuries, Romania would become one of the largest producers of the crop. During the

Second French intervention in Mexico The Second French Intervention in Mexico ( es, Segunda intervención francesa en México), also known as the Second Franco-Mexican War (1861–1867), was an invasion of Mexico, launched in late 1862 by the Second French Empire, which hoped to ...

, several Romanian soldiers participated with the French army sent by

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

to assist Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico. The first official contact between Mexico and Romania was in April 1880 when Prince

Carol I of Romania Carol I or Charles I of Romania (20 April 1839 – ), born Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, was the monarch of Romania from 1866 to his death in 1914, ruling as Prince (''Domnitor'') from 1866 to 1881, and as King from 1881 to 1914. He w ...

sent a letter to Mexican President Porfirio Díaz informing him of Romania's independence from the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. Diplomatic relations between Mexico and Romania were officially established on 20 July 1935 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

between foreign ministers of both nations. In 1940, Romanian King

Carol II Carol II (4 April 1953) was King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until his forced abdication on 6 September 1940. The eldest son of Ferdinand I, he became crown prince upon the death of his grand-uncle, King Carol I in 1914. He was the first of th ...

abdicated his throne and went into exile, initially to Mexico. The former King was a guest of Mexican President

Manuel Ávila Camacho Manuel Ávila Camacho (; 24 April 1897 – 13 October 1955) was a Mexican politician and military leader who served as the President of Mexico from 1940 to 1946. Despite participating in the Mexican Revolution and achieving a high rank, he cam ...

and was invited to observe Mexico's Independence Day parade in September 1941. On 24 December 1941, diplomatic relations were severed by Mexico when Romania joined the

Axis Powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

during

. In March 1973 diplomatic relations were re-established between both nations. Soon afterward, embassies were opened in both nations capitals respectively. In September 1989, Mexico closed its embassy in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

for financial reasons; however, the embassy was re-opened in 1995. In 1974, Romanian President

Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( , ; – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian communist politician and dictator. He was the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and the second and last Communist leader of Romania. He ...

became the first Romanian head of state to pay an official visit to Mexico.Intercambio comercial México-Rumania (in Spanish)
/ref> Since the initial visit, there have been other high-level visits from Romania to Mexico, the latest in 2015 by Prime Minister

Victor Ponta Victor Viorel Ponta (; born 20 September 1972) is a Romanian jurist and politician, who served as Prime Minister of Romania between his appointment by President Traian Băsescu in May 2012 and his resignation in November 2015. A former member of ...

. To date, there have only been high-level visits from Mexican Foreign Ministers to Romania. In 2020, both nations celebrated 85 years of diplomatic relations. 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 Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

due to the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

. The Mexican government also donated humanitarian supplies to Ukrainian refugees in Romania.

High-level visits

High-level visits from Mexico to Romania * Foreign Minister Jorge Castañeda y Álvarez de la Rosa (1979) * Foreign Minister

Rosario Green María del Rosario Green Macías (31 March 1941 – 25 November 2017) was a Mexican economist, diplomat and politician. She served as Secretary of Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Ernesto Zedillo (President of Mexico, 1994–2000). She was ...

(1999) High-level visits from Romania to Mexico * President

(1974) * President

Emil Constantinescu Emil Constantinescu () (born 19 November 1939) is a Romanian professor and politician, who served as the President of Romania, from 1996 to 2000. After the Romanian Revolution of 1989, Constantinescu became a founding member and vice president ...

(2000) * President

Ion Iliescu Ion Iliescu (; born 3 March 1930) is a Romanian politician and engineer who served as President of Romania from 1989 until 1996 and from 2000 until 2004. Between 1996 and 2000 and also from 2004 to 2008, the year in which he retired, Iliescu ...

(2002) * Prime Minister

(2015)

Bilateral agreements

Both nations have signed several bilateral agreements such as an Agreement on Cinematographic Cooperation (1974); Agreement on Economic, Industrial, Farming and Environmental Cooperation (1974); Agreement on Mining and Energy Cooperation (1974); Agreement on Oil and Petrochemical Cooperation (1974); Tourism Cooperation (1994); Agreement on Scientific and Technical Cooperation (1994); Agreement on Cooperation to Combat Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances and Related Crimes (1999); Agreement on Cultural, Youth and Sports Cooperation (1999) and an Agreement on the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Tax Evasion (2001).

Trade

In 1997, Mexico and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

(which includes Romania who joined the union in 2007) signed a

free trade agreement A free-trade agreement (FTA) or treaty is an agreement according to international law to form a free-trade area between the cooperating states. There are two types of trade agreements: bilateral and multilateral. Bilateral trade agreements occ ...

. In 2023, two-way trade between both nations amounted to US$709 million.Data México: Romania
/ref> 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 Grupo Alfa,

Grupo Bimbo Grupo Bimbo, S.A.B. de C.V. (also known simply as Bimbo) is a Mexican multinational company with a presence in over 33 countries located in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa. It has an annual sales volume of 15 billion dollars and is currentl ...

Cemex CEMEX S.A.B. de C.V., known as Cemex, is a Mexican multinational building materials company headquartered in San Pedro, near Monterrey, Mexico. It manufactures and distributes cement, ready-mix concrete and aggregates in more than 50 countries ...

and

Sigma Alimentos Sigma Alimentos, S.A. de C.V., also known as Sigma or Sigma Alimentos, is a Mexican multinational food processing and distribution company headquartered in San Pedro, near Monterrey, Mexico. It produces and distributes refrigerated foods, mainly ...

(among others) operate in Romania. Romanian gaming company, Amber, operates in Mexico. Embajada de Rumania en Ciudad de México

Resident diplomatic missions

* Mexico has an embassy in

. * Romania has an embassy in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

.Embassy of Romania in Mexico City
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mexico-Romania relations

Bilateral relations of Romania