April 25, 2023 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

România Internațional, 25.04.2023, 19:54

VISIT – The president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis and his Argentinean counterpart, Alberto Fernandez decided on Tuesday, in Buenos Aires, to boost bilateral political and diplomatic dialogue and cooperation in a number of sectors. Among them are environment protection, climate change, education, research and innovation, digitization, agriculture, green energy, nuclear energy, culture and tourism. President Iohannis said Argentina is a traditional friend of Romania in the Latin-American region, pointing out to the fact that 92 years since the establishment of permanent diplomatic representation in the two countries were marked on Monday. A memorandum of agreement was signed on Tuesday between the Department for Emergency Situations within the Romanian Interior Ministry and the White Helmets, the Argentinean agency in charge of international cooperation and humanitarian assistance. A bilateral cooperation document was also signed in the field of agriculture research. This visit by president Iohannis in Argentina, the first at this level in 30 years, ends the Romanian President’s tour to Latin America, which started on April 18 and also included Brazil and Chile.

DEFENCE — The Romanian Defence Minister, Angel Tîlvăr, on Tuesday paid an official visit to North Macedonia, to meet with President Stevo Pendarovski and with his counterpart Slavjanka Petrovska. Topics such as the importance of developing the bilateral political and military dialogue, joint training and cooperation as regards military education and the Special Operation Forces, were approached during the meeting. As regards NATO, the Romanian official emphasized the allies’ commitment to implementing the deterrence and defence measures on Romania’s territory and mentioned, in the context, the NATO summit in Vilnius this summer. Angel Tîlvăr thanked North Macedonia for contributing with an infantry squad to the Multinational Brigade South-East in Romania, which conveys a strong signal of allied solidarity. At the same time, Bucharest strongly supports the European aspirations of the West Balkan countries, the defence minister also said. He reiterated Romania’s full support for the Ukrainian people and emphasized the importance of international support being further granted to this country.

PROTESTS — Several hundred trade unionists in education protested for an hour on Tuesday, in front of the Government offices, unhappy with the level of salaries in the field. Trade unions are against the measures planned by the Government to cut budget spending, arguing they are likely to have a negative impact on the education employees. Unionists have announced they will also be picketing the Government offices on Wednesday and that on May 10 they will stage a protest likely to be attended by more than 15,000 people.

MIGRANTS – Austrias interior minister, Gerhard Karner, will be on an official visit to Romania on Wednesday for bilateral talks with his Romanian counterpart Lucian Bode, the Austrian mass media report. The main topic of discussion will be migration in the EU, with a focus on fighting migrant smuggling and asylum abuses, as well as protecting the EU borders. Last year the Austrian official opposed Romanias and Bulgarias Schengen accession, on grounds that Romania was on the Balkan illegal migration route. The allegation was denied at the time by the Romanian government and by EU institutions, including the EUROPOL.

TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Sorana Cirstea qualified on Tuesday to the second round of the WTA 1000 tournament in Madrid, after defeating American Lauren Davis 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. Cirstea will next play against Belarusian Arina Sabalenka, no. 2 in the world, whom she recently defeated in Miami, in the quarterfinals. Also on Tuesday, Ana Bogdan won a dramatic victory in the first round, against Hungarian Anna Bondar, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6, while Romanian player Gabriela Ruse beat the French Leolia Jeanjean 2-0, 6-4, 6-3 in the last qualifier round of the Madrid tournament. (EE)