March 21, 2022 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 21.03.2022, 20:00

REFUGEES – More than half a million Ukrainian refugees have crossed the border into Romania since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24. According to the Romanian Border Police, by March 20 at midnight, some 500,747 Ukrainian refugees entered Romania, of whom more than 4,000 applied for asylum. According to the Interior Ministry, these citizens enjoy all rights provided by law. According to a Government decision, stateless persons and nationals of third countries other than Ukraine, who benefitted national protection in the latter country, will also be protected in Romania. These categories will receive a stay permit for Romania’s territory, released by the General Inspectorate for Immigration, and also a personal identification number similar to that granted to asylum seekers. Temporary protection is granted automatically and does not require any formalities, the Bucharest authorities have announced.

TRADE – The President of Jordanian Businessmen Association, Hamdi Tabbaa, on Monday asked for measures to remove barriers that hinder bilateral trade between Jordan and Romania. Tabbaa said at the Romanian-Jordanian Economic Forum held in Amman, that one of the obstacles is the registration of Jordanian exports to Romania in a different manner than the ones of EU countries. He put the focus on cooperation for the consolidation of bilateral ties, in particular as regards trade and investment, so that a commercial balance is reached. The volume of trade between the two countries stood at around 609 million dollars in 2021 as compared with 376 million dollars in 2020.

TALKS – Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Monday discussed with the British PM Boris Johnson about the situation in the neighbouring Ukraine and the measures to strengthen the eastern flank of NATO. ”I had, before the NATO summit, an exchange of views with the British PM Boris Johnson, as regards the situation in Ukraine and the joint efforts to support this country. We also talked about the measures needed to consolidate the eastern flank,” Iohannis said on Twitter. An extraordinary NATO summit will be held in Brussels on Thursday.

CONFERENCE – Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu has announced at the meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels that Romania will stage jointly with Germany and France an international conference to stimulate support to the Republic of Moldova. The conference, co-chaired by the Romanian, German and French foreign ministers, will be held on April 5 in Berlin and will launch a support platform for Moldova and an appeal to donations by the EU and G7 member countries, by international financial institutions and other organisations. The conference will create five working groups in fields where Moldova needs support, namely, refugees, energy, finance and economy, border management and anticorruption.

VISIT – Polish President, Andrej Duda, will pay a visit to Bucharest on Tuesday, to hold talks with his Romanian counterpart Klaus Iohannis. According to the Presidential Administration, the two leaders will hold one-to-one talks, followed by a joint press conference. Andrej Duda made a working visit to Chisinau on Monday, to meet with the Moldovan President Maia Sandu. (EE)