ROME (JTA) — Romanian President Train Basescu began a three-day official visit to Israel.
Basescu, who arrived Sunday, was accompanied by Romania’s foreign minister, economics minister and other officials.
During his visit, Basescu will meet with President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and other senior officials, and he will also visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum.
On the eve of the trip — Basescu’s first to Israel as head of state — Israeli Ambassador to Bucharest Oren David characterized relations between the two countries as "very, very good."
David noted that Basescu’s visit marked more than 60 years of uninterrupted diplomatic relations between Israel and Romania. Romania was the only state in the Soviet bloc that did not break relations with Israel following the Six-Day War in 1967.
About 400,000 Romanian Jews survived the Holocaust and most of them moved to Israel. The two countries enjoy close economic ties, with much Israeli investment in Romania.
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