President Droupadi Murmu departs New Delhi on 19 July for the first ever state visit by an Indian head of state to Moldova and North Macedonia, and the first presidential visit to Romania in three decades. While the itinerary is heavy on diplomatic protocol, it also features back-to-back business and diaspora engagements aimed at opening alternative corridors for Indian talent and investment into the European Union’s eastern flank. In Chişinău on 20 July, the President will address an India-Moldova Business Forum focused on agritech and healthcare outsourcing—sectors that rely on short-term project visas and mutual recognition of professional qualifications. The two governments are expected to sign a memorandum on “facilitated visa issuance for ICT specialists,” cutting processing times from the current 30 days to 10 days. North Macedonia, the second stop, has drafted a draft double-taxation avoidance agreement and is courting Indian film producers with a 35 percent cash-rebate scheme that hinges on streamlined filming permits and equipment‐carnet processing. The Indian Motion Picture Producers’ Association will sign an MoU with the Macedonian Film Agency during the visit. Romania, already home to 18,000 Indian IT professionals, wants to upgrade its visa-on-arrival facility—available to Schengen multivisa holders—into a full e-visa for select Indian categories by early 2027. Joint working groups on labour mobility will meet alongside the presidential delegation, with staffing companies lobbying for quotas for Indian nurses and welding technicians in Romania’s ship-building hubs. For Indian corporates diversifying beyond traditional Western European bases, the tour signals political support for accelerated market entry. Mobility managers should track follow-up announcements from the MEA; early movers could benefit from pilot “fast lanes” at eastern EU airports and from forthcoming air-services agreements likely to be negotiated after the President’s return.
Source: The Indian Express
