ons with Romania, and Iraq and
the United Arab Republic reduced the level of their representation in
Bucharest. Despite these actions by the Arab states, PCR leaders
continued to voice support for "the struggle of the Arab people to
defend their national independence and sovereignty" but called for a
negotiated settlement of the conflict.

The Ceausescu regime systematically cultivated relations with the
developing countries, and particular efforts were directed toward
increasing relations with African nations during 1970 and 1971.
Ceausescu made a state visit to Morocco, and other high Romanian
officials visited Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Kinshasa)--in late 1971
became the Republic of Zaire--Burundi, Kenya, the Malagasy Republic,
Nigeria, Tanzania, and Zambia. Several prominent African leaders, among
them President Jean Bedel Bokassa of the Central African Republic and
President Joseph Mobutu of Zaire visited Romania. Trade agreements were
signed with a number of African nations, but little had been done to
implement these agreements as of early 1972. As another means of
increasing its influence in Africa and broadening relations there, the
Ceausescu government established more than 400 scholarships for African
students to study in Romania.

Relations With International Organizations

Romania became a member of the UN in 1955 and as of early 1972 also held
membership in the following UN specialized agencies: the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United
Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations
Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). It also participates in the work of the
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

The two most important communist organizations to which the country
belongs are the Warsaw Pact and COMECON. The Warsaw Pact was established
in 1955 as a twenty-year mutual defense pact between the Soviet Union,
Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and
Romania. (Albania ceased its participation in the organization in 1961
and officially withdrew in 1968 as a symbol of protest against the
invasion of Czechoslovakia). As an instrument of Soviet foreign policy,
the Warsaw Pact has served to maintain Soviet hegemony in Eastern Europe
and to provide the legal basis for the presence of Soviet troops on the
territory of some of the parti