New Delhi, Jan. 31: Romania today offered to become the conduit for Indian companies in central Europe. The offer was made by visiting Romania President Ion Iliescu as he addressed captains of Indian industry here.

Iliescu also urged the international community to create a global institutional framework to regulate the functioning of the world market to protect the interest of poor nations.

“There is an urgent need for an institutional framework at the global level to regulate and ensure proper functioning of the world market so that it benefits the poor nations,” he said while delivering a lecture on “integration and globalisation”.

The Romanian President said governments, especially those of less-developed countries, need to protect the interests of economically weaker sections and ensure social justice in order to meet the challenges posed by globalisation. “While totalitarianism has failed to usher in development in many countries, a completely unregulated market also creates hurdles in the process of development.”

Iliescu added that democracy was the only means by which development could be ensured for all sections of society.

The Romanian President held wide-ranging talks during the day with his Indian counterpart A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and foreign minister Yashwant Sinha. Kalam held a banquet in his honour in the evening.

Iliescu discussed bilateral issues with the Indian leadership as well as topics of international and regional importance, particularly the India-Pakistan peace process. But his focus during his visit has been on deepening economic and trade ties with Delhi. The President visited Mumbai and Bangalore before coming here and tried to sell Romania as an attractive investment destination for Indian businessmen.

Iliescu highlighted the presence of 180 companies in Romania that have Indian participation and pointed out that his country’s 5 per cent annual growth rate is the highest in the region. He said he expected more Indian firms would invest there.

The President identified agri-processing, machinery and tourism as potential areas of cooperation between the two countries. He also expressed his keenness to work closely with India in information technology – a field where Indian expertise is regarded highly the world over.

Iliescu is scheduled to visit Agra tomorrow and will leave for Indonesia later in the day.

Romania is a close ally of the US and is currently one of the non-permanent members of the UN Security Council. During Iliescu’s visit, the two sides agreed to cooperate with each other in the UN and other multilateral fora on issues of mutual interest.

A number of agreements were signed after the President met Vajpayee this evening. The agreements include pacts on plant protection, phytosanitary quarantine, cooperation in sanitary veterinary matters, a visa-free regime for diplomats and officials, cultural exchanges and cooperation between Romania’s national television broadcaster and Doordarshan and All India Radio and the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation.