Romania looks to ramp up cultural visits to Puducherry

The Romanian diplomatic mission will look to bring musicians experimental theatre exponents and film festival packages to India as part of ramping up cultural collaboration, Ambassador of Romania Daniela-Mariana Sezonov Tane said

The Romanian diplomatic mission will look to bring musicians experimental theatre exponents and film festival packages to India as part of ramping up cultural collaboration, Ambassador of Romania Daniela-Mariana Sezonov Tane said on Tuesday.

During an interaction with The Hindu after opening the second art gallery of the Alliance Francaise here, and a painting exhibition by Romanian artist Alexandru Poteca, Ms. Tane said the ongoing cultural events in select cities to mark 30 years of Romania joining the Francophonie movement provided an ideal launchpad to take cultural exchanges forward.

“Coming to this city to showcase Romanian culture was an automatic choice as this is the most Francophone of places in India...perhaps the only remaining French-speaking region in India”, said Ms. Tane, who recalls visiting Puducherry two decades ago.

Romania, which has historically accorded prominence to the French language — even bearing the tag of being the hub of teaching French in Central and Eastern Europe — had formally joined the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF) in 1991, first obtaining observer status, followed by full membership in 1993.

In December, Ms. Tane had called on Chief Minister N. Rangasamy to discuss collaboration in higher education opportunities and skilled/ unskilled job prospects for youth in the Union Territory in sectors such as hospitality and agriculture.

Laurent Jalicous, AFP Director, said there was an overwhelming response from enthusiasts to the quiz based on Romania hosted a couple of days ago by the institution as part of Francophonie 2023 to mark 30 years of the country’s association with the OIF.