Swapna Kumbar , Bengaluru - President Droupadi Murmu has arrived in Moldova, kicking off a landmark three‑nation tour of Eastern Europe that will also take her to North Macedonia and Romania. The visit is being billed as historic, as it marks the first ever trip by an Indian President to Moldova and North Macedonia and the first presidential visit to Romania in over three decades.

Murmu’s first stop is Moldova, where she is scheduled to hold delegation‑level talks with President Maia Sandu and meet the speaker of the Moldovan Parliament. The programme includes interactions with the Moldova‑India Parliamentary Friendship Group, a business forum aimed at expanding trade and investment, and a meeting with members of the Indian diaspora. The focus areas highlighted for cooperation include agriculture, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, IT, and education, with both sides looking to upgrade ties into a broader strategic partnership.

Following Moldova, the President will travel to North Macedonia for a two‑day visit. There she will hold bilateral talks with President Gordana Siljanovska‑Davkova, meet Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, and address the country’s Assembly. Economic engagement in fields such as agriculture, pharma, science and technology, and IT/ITES is expected to be a central theme. In the final leg, Murmu will visit Romania, where she is slated to meet the Romanian leadership, address an India–Romania Business Forum, and interact with the Indian community. The stop in Bucharest is intended to revive high‑level political contact and deepen economic and people‑to‑people ties after a long gap in presidential visits.

President Murmu’s three‑nation tour, beginning with her arrival in Moldova, is designed to significantly raise India’s profile in Eastern Europe and unlock new avenues of cooperation in trade, technology, and education. By combining high‑level political outreach with business and diaspora engagement, the visit aims to lay the groundwork for more durable partnerships with Moldova, North Macedonia, and Romania.