The earliest contact between the Romanian and Norwegian people may have been in the 9th century AD when Varangians began trading with the Byzantine Empire along routes that led through Romania.

In September 1999 King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway made a state visit to Romania where they met with president Emil Constantinescu and his wife.

During the visit, Norway's Foreign Minister Knut Vollebaek expressed Norwegian support for Romania's bid to join NATO.

[11] In July 2003 Norwegian Defence Minister Kristin Krohn Devold visited Bucharest where she met President Ion Iliescu.

In May 2004, Romanian National Defence Minister Ioan Mircea Pascu said he expected "special" military ties with Norway to improve as a result.

[14] In September 2004, Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik visited Romania where he met with President Ion Iliescu and other officials.

[15] In November 2007, Romanian President Traian Băsescu visited Norway where he met with King Harald V. The two men praised the 90 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and solid cooperation in foreign affairs.

[16] Also in November 2007, leaders of the two country's police services agreed to further improve bilateral cooperation aiming at preventing and combatting serious crime.

[15] Speaking in May 2005, Norwegian ambassador to Romania Leif Arne Ulland noted that bilateral trade had grown strongly in the last ten years, reaching 141 million Euro in 2004.