By Lee Jon-young

Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok of the Incheon Metropolitan City met with Cezar Manole Armeanu, Ambassador of Romania to Korea, at the reception room of Incheon City Hall to discuss economic and cultural exchanges between Incheon and Romania on Jan. 16.

Mayor Yoo said that Incheon, which is the world's No. 1 biopharmaceutical producer, a leading city in air mobility and eco-friendly energy conversion, and home to world-class semiconductor post-processing companies, can build economic partnerships and collaborate in various fields with Romania. 

He also shared his vision of strengthening the network with the 7.08 million overseas Koreans, who are civilian economic and diplomatic envoys in 193 countries around the world, and growing into a business hub and becoming one of the world's top 10 cities, based on the opening of the Overseas Korean Affairs Office.

"I would like to congratulate the Romanian Honorary Consulate in Incheon on its opening on January 26," said Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok. "We look forward to providing necessary assistance to the 300 Romanian expatriates living in Korea, as well as Romanians visiting Korea for study or business, and contributing to bilateral exchanges."

Following Daejeon and Busan, the Romanian Honorary Consulate in Songdo, Incheon, will support the work of the Embassy, including providing consular assistance to Romanian expatriates in Korea and strengthening trade and investment relations between the two countries.

Romania, a country with great natural beauty and rich cultural heritage, including the Danube River and the Carpathian Mountains, established diplomatic relations with Korea in 1990, and Korea is Romania's only strategic partner in Asia.

The two countries have been strengthening cooperation in the energy sector, including the construction of nuclear power plants, as well as in the defense  sector, with trade volume exceeding $1.3 billion as of 2022.