Bilateral Relations

Bilateral Relations

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    Israel and Romania have very strong friendly relations, based on a long tradition of cooperation. The diplomatic relations between the two countries were established when Romania recognized the State of Israel, immediately after its creation, on 11 June 1948. 

    Between 1967 and1989, Romania was the only country from the Soviet space which had continuous relations with Israel, which in turn offered it a special position in Israel’s foreign policy. The connection between Romania and Israel is historic also from the perspective of a large Jewish community in Romania since the 15th century, which after the Second World War and massive immigration to Israel, still represent a significant community in the country.

    Over the years, Romania has become an important partner of Israel in Central and Eastern Europe, as the two countries share similar values and principles. Thus, the cooperation between Israel and Romania has grown stronger in many areas, such as political, commercial, economic, defense, and cultural relations.

    The closeness of ties between the two Governments is manifested through mutual visits of high-ranking officials and dignitaries, most notably in recent years the visit of President Traian Basescu and President Shimon Peres, the visit of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Avigdor Lieberman and Mr. Andrei Marga. In addition,     during the visit of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in July 2009 to Romania, it was agreed to hold the first joint Cabinet meeting in November 2011 in Israel.

    The first inter-governmental meeting, which took place on 23-24 November 2011 and was conducted by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc, marked a new stage in bilateral relations with the signing of a Joint Declaration that emphasized our historic partnership and regulated the priorities for bilateral cooperation for medium and long-term prospects. Moreover, the event aimed to further strenghten the cooperation in diverse sectors, such as: economy, agriculture, labor security, environment protection, education, emergency medical assistance, tourism and many more, through bilateral agreements.


  • Important bilateral visits

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    ​- September 1991 -         President of Romania Ion Iliescu to Israel
    - 20-23 April 1994  -         Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Shimon Peres to Romania
    - 3 December 1996 -        Meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
                                         and President of Romania Emil Constantinescu at the CSCE 
                                         Conference in Lisbon                                 
    - 18-20 March 1997 -       Israeli Minister of Health Yehoshua Maza to Romania
    - 14-16 June 1997 -         Romanian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister
                                         Adrian Severin to Israel
    - 2-5 October 1998 -        Romanian Prime Minister Radu Vasile to Israel
    - 18 November 1999 -      Meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and
                                         Romanian President Emil Constantinescu at the OSCE
                                         Conference in Istambul          
    - 3-7 January 2000 -        Romanian President Emil Constantinescu to Israel
    - 28-30 May 2000 -          Israeli Deputy Minister of Defense Ephraim Sne to Romania
    - 23-26 April 2001 -          Israeli Minister Raanan Cohen to Romania
    - 16-17 July 2001 -          Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase, with the Romanian
                                         Minister of Foreign Affairs Mircea Geoana, and a delegation
                                         composed of the Romanian Minister of Industry, of Agriculture,
                                         of Communications and more.
    - 4 December 2001 -        Meeting between Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Shimon Peres
                                         and the Romanian President, Prime Minister, and Foreign
                                         Affairs Minister during the OSCE Conference in
                                         Bucharest                            
    - 10-13 January 2002 -     Romanian Ministry of Culture Razvan Theodorescu to Israel
    - 28-30 April 2002 -          Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mircea Geoana to Israel
    - 24-28 October 2002 -     Israeli Minister of Agriculture Shalom Shimhon to Romania
    - 8-9 February 2003 -       Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to Romania
    - 30-31 August 2004 -      Israeli Deputy Minister of Defense Ze’ev Boim to Romania
    - 14-16 March 2005 -       Romanian Prime Minister Calin Popescu-Tăriceanu to Israel
    - 1-6 July 2005 -              Romanian Foreign Affairs Minister Miihai-Răzvan Ungureanu to
                                         Israel
    - 18–24 May 2006 -         Romanian State Secretary Theodor Baconschi to Israel
    - 7 June 2007 -               Meeting between Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Adrian
                                         Cioroianu and Israeli Minister of Social Affairs Yitzak Herzog at
                                         the OSCE Conference in Bucharest
    - 19-22 February 2008 -   Romanian Foreign Affairs Minister Adrian Cioroianu to Israel
    - 31 May-2 June 2009 -    Romanian President Traian Basescu to Israel
     - 14-16 April 2010  -        Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister 
                                         Avigdor Lieberman to Romania              
    - 13-16 June 2010 -         Israeli Public Security Minister  Yitzhak Aharonovitch to
                                         Romania
    - 11–13 August 2010 -     President of Israel Shimon Peres to Romania
    - 27 February-
      1 March 2011 -             Romanian Foreign Affairs Ministerl Teodor Baconschi to
                                         Israel
    - 6-8 April 2011 -             Israeli Minister of Tourism Stas Misejnikov to Romania
    - 6 July 2011 -                Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Romania
    - 23-24 November 2011 - The first Government to Government session between
                                         Romania and Israel took place in Jerusalem, with the
                                         Romanian delegation headed by Prime Minister Emil Boc
    - 28-30 May 2012 -         Romanian Foreign Affairs Minister Andrei Marga to Israel
    - 10-11 July 2012 -         Romanian Delegate Minister for Business Lucian Isar to Israel
    - 8-9 October 2012 -       Romanian Foreign Affairs Minister Titus Corlăţean to Israel
    - 9-11 February 2013 -   Romanian Minister of Economy Varujan Vosganian to Israel