Ambassador Daniela Sezonov Tane on Wednesday presented her credentials to President Abdul Hamid as the non-resident envoy of Romania to Bangladesh.

Based in New Delhi she also serves concurrently as her country’s ambassador to Indian and Nepal.

Ambassador Daniela was given a guard of honour by a smartly turned out contingent of Presidential Guard Regiment on her arrival at Bangabhaban, President’s Press Secretary Joynal Abedin said.Welcoming the new ambassador President Hamid hoped that Bangladesh’s good relations with Romania will grow further under her tenure.

Earlier on Tuesday evening Enayetullah Khan, Honorary Consul of Romania in Bangladesh, hosted a reception at his Baridhara residence in honor of Ambassador Daniela.

"I am happy to be in Bangladesh. I am very proud to be in Bangladesh," she said, adding that Bangladesh and Romania are trying to do some important events together to mark the 50 years of their diplomatic relations.

She said Romanians are trying to help as much as they can amid the crisis in Ukraine and recalled how they helped Indian students and some Bangladeshi people who got stranded in Ukraine.

“Now we need to be together to stand for some basic general values. I hope the situation will improve,” said the Romanian ambassador, adding that it is a war which has to be condemned by everybody. “We can’t have double standards.”

After falling in love with India, through the ancient wisdom of the Vedas and the Upanishads, Ambassador Daniela decided to study Hindi language and literature at the University of Bucharest.She was part of the first batch of students studying Hindi in post-communist Romania. In 1992 Daniela received a scholarship from the Indian government, for the study of Hindi language and culture, at Kendriya Hindi Sansthan, Agra and this is how she discovered India at 22.

Enayetullah Khan said Romania was one of the first countries in the world to recognize Bangladesh as a sovereign country and expressed his happiness to see Ambassador Daniela in Dhaka who she met first almost 20 years ago.

He said Covid has taught them to think differently during the last two years and subsequent sufferings due to the pandemic made them stronger.

Khan hoped that the situation in Ukraine would turn better and would be peaceful. “I hope there will be peace in the world. There will be more prosperity.”

He said though there are new challenges they would be able to face those challenges unitedly for a better world.

“This is a new Bangladesh. It’s a rising Bangladesh,” Khan said, adding that they are working hard to promote Bangladesh coming out from “image deficit”.

Khan hoped for peace and prosperity in the world and noted that in every crisis there is an opportunity. “I hope Bangladesh-Romania relations will grow bigger, stronger and deeper.”

Secretary (West) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Shabbir Ahmad Chowdhury gratefully recalled the support of the Romanian Foreign Ministry and Bangladesh Mission in Bucharest in helping stranded Bangladeshis leave Ukraine through Moldova and Romania.

“I am very much impressed by the way she looks into Bangladesh and she (Romanian Ambassador) has expressed her willingness to elevate the relationship between the two countries to a different height,” he said.

The secretary said much progress has been made and Romania is looking forward to having a lot of manpower from Bangladesh and the new ambassador has committed to facilitate it. “Our relationship will grow strength to strength in the future.”

Current and former diplomats including former Ambassador Farooq Sobhan and Honorary Advisor Emeritus, Cosmos Foundation Ambassador (Retd) Tariq A Karim were present.