October 24, 2006	Tuesday	Ramazan 30, 1427

NEW DELHI, Oct 23: India and Romania agreed on Monday to double bilateral trade to one billion dollars by 2010. "The two countries agreed to strive to achieve a bilateral trade turnover of one billion dollars by 2010," said a joint statement by the countries issued during a visit by Romanian President Traian Basescu.

Romania, which joins the European Union on January 1, was going "full steam ahead with privatisation and the reduction of corporate tax to a flat rate of 16 per cent," Basescu told a business audience in New Delhi.

"Coupled with a well-trained labour force (this) should enthuse Indian investors to take Romania seriously," said Basescu, whose visit wraps up on Wednesday.

India's Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma said energy, tourism, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology were among the areas for cooperation as the countries signed two agreements to boost economic ties.

Sharma said the two countries logged bilateral trade of $500 million in 2005. That was up from $266 million in the previous year, according to the Indian government's website.

"We have a target of a billion dollars in the next few years," Sharma said.--AFP