March 22, 2014
A roundup of domestic and international news
România Internațional, 22.03.2014, 14:19
The Romanian delegation led by deputy prime minister Liviu Dragnea, the minister for regional development and public administration, continues its visit to China. On Friday, in Shenzhen, the Romanian officials met with the representatives of several companies in the communications and energy fields. Following the talks, the Chinese companies pledged to make more investments in Romania. In Hong Kong, minister Liviu Dragnea called for support in attracting investment funds from the region that should finance projects worth around 20 billion euros, for which Romania and China signed agreements last autumn. Talks also focused on the promotion of Romanian wines, Hong Kong being the world’s largest wine market.
The German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier is expected Saturday in Kiev, one day after the EU signed the political association agreement with Ukraine. The OSCE observers will also go to Kiev in an attempt to curb tensions in that country. The EU continues to convey strong messages of support for Kiev, given that the Russian president on Friday promulgated a law on Crimea’s rejoining the Russian Federation. Mocked by the Russian officials, the American sanctions sent the Moscow Stock Exchange sliding and some American bank card operators stopped payments to the clients of several Russian banks.
The Chinese president Xi Jinping, who has taken office for less than a year, will arrive Saturday in the Netherlands, on his first official visit to Europe. According to France Press the visit takes place at a time when Europe is facing the most serious diplomatic crisis since the end of the Cold War after Crimea’s annexation by Russia. The Chinese official will meet with King Willem-Alexander and with the Dutch PM Mark Rutte. Xi Jinping is accompanied by a delegation of 250 businesspeople who will participate on Sunday in a Chinese-Dutch economic forum. In the Hague, the Chinese president will participate on Monday and Tuesday in a summit on nuclear security, where he will meet with his American counterpart Barack Obama. After Holland, Xi Jinping will visit France, Germany, Belgium and the EU headquarters in Brussels.
The pair Monica Niculescu /Klara Zakopalova (from Romania and the Czech Republic) qualified in round 2 of the WTA tournament doubles in Miami, which has prizes up for grabs worth 5.4 million dollars. In the next round they will meet the pair Alla Kudriavteva/Anastasia Rodionova (from Russia and Australia). Also the pair Sorana Cîrstea/Anastasia Pavliucenkova (Romania/ Russia) qualified in the tournament’s 2nd round where they will take on the pair Martina Hingis/Sabine Lisicki (Switzerland / Germany). The best Romanian tennis player of the moment, Simona Halep (seeded 5th in the WTA rankings) has withdrawn from the competition in Miami due to a foot injury.
