Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

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

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental transnational military alliance of 32 member states—30 European and 2 North American. Established in the aftermat ...

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

Varangians The Varangians ( ; ; ; , or )Varangian
," Online Etymology Dictionary were

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

along routes that led through Romania. There are a number of Varangian relics in modern-day Romania. However, formal relations between the modern states began only in 1917, towards the end of the First World War. Relations were interrupted during the Second World War (1939–1945), but formally resumed in 1946. Relations greatly improved after the

Romanian Revolution of 1989 The Romanian revolution () was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several countries around the world, primarily within the Eastern Bloc. The Romanian revoluti ...

. Norway was one of the first countries to recognize the new regime in Romania after the revolution, and the Norwegian embassy in Bucharest was reopened in the summer of 1990.

Agreements

In 1993, representatives of Norway and Romania meeting in Oslo agreed to modifications to their 1991

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries, whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas. According to its p ...

(GATT) agreement on trade in textiles. In 2002, the two countries signed an agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions consistent with the

Kyoto protocol The was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that global warming is oc ...

. In September 2004, Romania and Norway signed an agreement on energy and the environment. In August 2007 Norway made an agreement with the EU concerning a Cooperation Programme for Economic Growth and Sustainable Development in Romania. The cost to Norway was almost 100 million euros. In November 2007 Romanian President

Traian Băsescu Traian Băsescu (; born 4 November 1951) is a Romanian politician who served as the president of Romania from 2004 to 2014. Prior to his presidency, Băsescu served as Romanian minister of transport on multiple occasions between 1991 and 2000, ...

(a former naval captain who studied at the Shipping Academy in Norway) signed an agreement in Oslo on research and educational cooperation between 3 leading maritime universities in Romania and NCE Maritime.

Official meetings and statements

In September 1999 King

Harald V Harald V (, ; born 21 February 1937) has been King of Norway since 1991. A member of the House of Glücksburg, Harald was the third child and only son of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. He was second in the line of succ ...

and

Queen Sonja of Norway Sonja (born Sonja Haraldsen; 4 July 1937) is Queen of Norway as the wife of King Harald V. Sonja and the then Crown Prince Harald had dated for nine years prior to their marriage in 1968. They had kept their relationship a secret due to the ...

made a state visit to Romania where they met with 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, Romanian Revolution of 1989, Constantinescu became a founding member ...

and his wife. During the visit, Norway's Foreign Minister Knut Vollebaek expressed Norwegian support for Romania's bid to join

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

. In September 2002, Romanian Prime Minister

Adrian Năstase Adrian Năstase (; born 22 June 1950) is a Romanian jurist, academic/professor, blogger, and former politician who served as the prime minister of Romania from December 2000 to December 2004. He competed in the 2004 Romanian presidential elect ...

made a formal visit to

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

where he met Norwegian Prime Minister

Kjell Magne Bondevik Kjell Magne Bondevik (; born 3 September 1947) is a Norway, Norwegian Lutheranism, Lutheran Religious minister, minister and Politics of Norway, politician. As leader of the Christian Democratic Party (Norway), Christian Democratic Party, he ser ...

. Among other subject, Nastase asked for Norway's continued support for Romania's NATO bid. Oscars gate 51 - 2009-06-20 at 17-32-01

In July 2003 Norwegian Defence Minister

Kristin Krohn Devold Kristin Krohn Devold (born 12 August 1961 in Ålesund) is a former Minister of Defence of Norway. She was elected to three terms in the Norwegian Parliament from Oslo as a representative for Conservative Party. Education She has a Master of Sc ...

visited Bucharest where she met President

Ion Iliescu Ion Iliescu (; born 3 March 1930) is a Romanian politician and engineer who served as the second 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, ...

. They discussed improvements in Romanian-Norwegian defence cooperation, as well as greater bilateral cooperation in other fields. In February 2004, Norway's Foreign Minister

Jan Petersen Jan Petersen (born 11 June 1946, in Oslo) is a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party. Petersen was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Akershus in 1981, and was re-elected on six occasions. He had previously served as a deputy ...

met Romanian Premier

Adrian Năstase Adrian Năstase (; born 22 June 1950) is a Romanian jurist, academic/professor, blogger, and former politician who served as the prime minister of Romania from December 2000 to December 2004. He competed in the 2004 Romanian presidential elect ...

in Bucharest. They discussed the excellent relations between the countries and further development of the partnership. Romania joined NATO in March 2004. In May 2004, Romanian National Defence Minister Ioan Mircea Pascu said he expected "special" military ties with Norway to improve as a result. In September 2004, Norwegian Prime Minister

Kjell Magne Bondevik Kjell Magne Bondevik (; born 3 September 1947) is a Norway, Norwegian Lutheranism, Lutheran Religious minister, minister and Politics of Norway, politician. As leader of the Christian Democratic Party (Norway), Christian Democratic Party, he ser ...

visited Romania where he met with President Ion Iliescu and other officials. They discussed strengthened cooperation in strategic fields as NATO partners, as well as improved economic cooperation once Romania joined the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. In November 2007, Romanian President

Traian Băsescu Traian Băsescu (; born 4 November 1951) is a Romanian politician who served as the president of Romania from 2004 to 2014. Prior to his presidency, Băsescu served as Romanian minister of transport on multiple occasions between 1991 and 2000, ...

visited Norway where he met with King Harald V. The two men praised the 90 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and solid cooperation in foreign affairs. Also in November 2007, leaders of the two country's police services agreed to further improve bilateral cooperation aiming at preventing and combatting serious crime.

Business

In 2003, imports from Romania to Norway were about $157 million, mostly ship hulls. Norwegian exports to Romania were about $34 million and included machinery, fish, seafood and electrical machinery. Speaking in May 2005, Norwegian ambassador to Romania Leif Arne Ulland noted that bilateral trade had grown strongly in the last ten years, reaching 141 million Euro in 2004. Norwegian investment in Romania could be around 100 million Euro. Norwegian companies operating in Romania in 2005 included Aker, employing 6,500 people, IMGB Kvaerner and Orkla Foods. Aker is now

STX Europe STX Europe AS, formerly Aker Yards ASA, was until 2012 a subsidiary of the South Korean STX Offshore & Shipbuilding. With headquarters in Oslo, Norway, STX Europe operated 15 shipyards in Brazil, Finland, France, Norway, Romania and Vietnam. Th ...

, owned by the

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

n industrial

chaebol A chaebol ( , ; , ) is a large industrial South Korean conglomerate run and controlled by an individual or family. A chaebol often consists of multiple diversified affiliates, controlled by a person or group. Several dozen large South Kore ...

STX Corporation STX Corporation is a South Korean company that provides trading services and is publicly held. The company operates through two divisions: trade and ship maintenance. Its trade division deals with shipping and energy materials such as coal, oil ...

. It is the largest shipbuilding group in Europe and the fourth largest in the world. With headquarters in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, Norway, STX Europe operates 15 shipyards in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, Finland, France, Norway, Romania and Vietnam. IMGB Kvaerner is now owned by the Korean giant Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction. The Norwegian firm Jacobsen Electro is a partner with Romelectro in developing the Romanian electricity transmission and distribution network. By 2006, trade volumes had reached 307 million Euro. Investments by Norwegian businesspeople had grown to 120 million Euro. In February 2007 the European Union put pressure on Norway, a non-EU country, to increase the payments it makes in return for access to the European market to account for the accession of Bulgaria and Romania.

Heavy water incident

In May 1988, reports were published that said Romania had sold

heavy water Heavy water (deuterium oxide, , ) is a form of water (molecule), water in which hydrogen atoms are all deuterium ( or D, also known as ''heavy hydrogen'') rather than the common hydrogen-1 isotope (, also called ''protium'') that makes up most o ...

to Israel that had been purchased from Norway. Heavy water is a key ingredient in making plutonium for nuclear bombs. Romania denied the allegations. Norway had asked Israel in 1987 for confirmation that the heavy water is not being used to make bombs, but as of July 1989 Israel had not agreed to inspections.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norway-Romania Relations

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

Bilateral relations of Romania

History

Agreements

Official meetings and statements

Business

Heavy water incident

See also

References