Visit – Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis, will pay an official visit to the Republic of Korea from April 22-24, at the invitation of his counterpart Yoon Suk Yeol. The Republic of Korea is the first country in the Asia-Pacific region with which, in 2008, Romania raised relations to the level of Strategic Partnership. On the occasion of the upcoming visit by President Iohannis to Seoul, this Partnership will be consolidated through a document that will establish the directions of cooperation in the next 10 years. Relevant documents will be signed regarding defense, nuclear energy, investments and foreign trade, cooperation in emergency situations and disaster management, cooperation in the fields of culture, mass media, youth and sports. In the Republic of Korea, Romania’s President will also have meetings with representatives of the Romanian community and the business environment and will visit an exhibition of traditional Romanian art.
Brussels – Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis, participated, on Wednesday and Thursday, in Brussels, in the extraordinary meeting of the European Council. The talks focused, among other things, on the conflict in Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East, the EU-Turkey relations and the new European pact for the single market competitiveness. According to a Romanian presidency communiqué, Klaus Iohannis reiterated that Ukraine, along with the Republic of Moldova, remain issues of absolute priority and insisted on the need for a security approach that includes the entire Black Sea region. He also pleaded for the rapid advancement of the process of EU accession of the two states, within a predictable and sustained process. Regarding the situation in the Middle East, the European leaders reiterated their solidarity with the Israeli people and called for the de-escalation of the situation in the region.
Abu Dhabi – The Romanian Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, said in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, that the Romanian government wants to continue the partnerships it already has with companies from the Emirates. In this way, the Port of Constanţa is consolidating its strategic and logistic capacity in the run up to the recovery and reconstruction process of Ukraine, said the Romanian PM. Moreover, the Romanian Transport Minister, Sorin Grindeanu, announced that on May 15 the new terminal in the Port of Constanţa will be inaugurated, a joint project developed by the port company from Dubai and the Administration of the Port of Constanța, worth 82 million Euros. He pointed out that Romania was interested in attracting new financing to increase the port capacity in reducing ship unloading/loading times and smoothing the flow of ships in the port’s basins. The statements come in the context of the discussions that the Romanian delegation had on Friday with the management of the Dubai Ports company, at the end of the visit to the Middle East.
Attack – Friday’s attack near the city of Isfahan in Iran, apparently carried out by drones and attributed to Israel, worries the international community, which asks both countries to stop the confrontation. In turn, Iran minimized the impact of the explosions, did not directly accuse Israel and promised not to respond militarily. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that the Iranian nuclear facilities in the Isfahan region suffered no damage and reiterated the call for restraint. “We must do everything possible for all parties to stop the escalation of the conflict in this region,” said, in turn, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. And the G7 group announced that it would carry out a diplomatic effort to ease tensions between Israel and Iran. Tehran launched a missile and drone attack against Israel last Saturday in retaliation for the bombing – attributed to Israel – of the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1, which killed seven members of the Revolutionary Guards, the Islamic Republic’s ideological army. Israel threatened with reprisals for this attack.
Handball – The Romanian national handball team was assigned to Group B, along with the teams of Montenegro, the Czech Republic and Serbia, at the European Women’s Handball Championship – EHF EURO 2024, following to the drawing of lots held on Thursday evening, in Vienna. Romania, which won the first group of the preliminaries with the maximum score, was part of the second most valuable urn, while Montenegro was top seed. The 16th edition of the EHF EURO for women will take place between November 28 and December 15, in Austria, Hungary and Switzerland, with the participation of 24 teams, eight more than in the previous editions. Romania participated 14 times in the European Women’s Championship, obtaining only one medal, bronze, in 2010.
Planes – Three F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft purchased by Romania from Norway landed, on Friday, at the 71st Air Base ‘General Emanoil Ionescu’ from Câmpia Turzii (central Romania), and are to be assigned to the 48th Fighter Squadron. According to a defense ministry communiqué, the purchase of the new planes and the related package of goods and services will ensure the increase of Romania’s security by ensuring the defense of the national and NATO airspace, in peacetime and in crisis situations. “Through the gradual arrival, throughout this year and the next, of the 32 multi-role F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft, which will provide two more squadrons of the Air Force, Romania is strengthening its air defense capabilities at a level adapted to security challenges from the region”, Minister Angel Tîlvăr said.
Ukraine – NATO member states agreed on Friday to provide Kyiv with additional air defense systems, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said after a special meeting of allied defense ministers. ‘In addition to the Patriot, there are other weapons that allies can provide, including the French SAMP/T system, and many others that do not have systems available have pledged financial support to acquire them for Ukraine’ Jens Stoltenberg also said in Brussels. Also on Friday, the foreign ministers of the G7 states pledged to “strengthen the air defense means of Ukraine” against Russian attacks. In the final statement issued at the end of the three-day meeting on the Italian island of Capri, they say they are examining ‘all possible options’ to use frozen Russian assets to help Kyiv ahead of the G7 summit of heads of state and government, scheduled to take place in mid-June also in Italy. On Saturday, in Washington, the House of Representatives will vote on the 61 billion dollar package proposed by the Biden administration for Ukraine. (LS)