November 16, 2023

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Newsroom, 16.11.2023, 13:55

VISIT President Klaus Iohannis today concludes his 3-day visit to
Kenya, in an African tour that is taking him next to Tanzania. In Nairobi, the
Romanian official will visit an all-girls school to inaugurate a donation by
Romania under its development assistance programme. In fact, consolidating
Romania’s profile as a provider of education and training to African countries
is one of the goals of the African tour undertaken by president Iohannis. On
Wednesday, in Kenya, Mr. Iohannis had talks with his Kenyan counterpart William
Ruto, on which occasion four agreements were signed in the fields of environmental
protection and climate change, scientific cooperation, food safety and
diplomatic training. The tour, which also includes the Republic of Cabo Verde and
Senegal, is the first political and diplomatic initiative at this level in the
past 30 years, and aims to re-launch Romania’s relations with the countries on
the African continent.

PROTEST Around 2,000 people gathered this morning in
front of the government’s headquarters in Bucharest, in a national protest
against the public pension system and the recent law on tax-related measures. The
rally organised by the Meridian National Trade Union Confederation, brought
together representatives of various public sector staff, from local police to
civil servants or forestry and agriculture workers around the country. The main
source of discontent is the bill on public pensions, passed by the Cabinet on November
9, which according to trade unionists writes off some retirement rights currently
enjoyed by several personnel categories. On Wednesday employees of Romanian
public pensions agencies, healthcare agencies and employment agencies temporarily
suspended work and took to the streets. Healthcare Ministry staff and
pharmacists are also disgruntled and demand solutions from the government.

ECONOMY
Romania will conclude the year with a 2.2% economic growth rate, as against 4.6%
in 2022, the European Commission’s autumn forecast indicates. Growth estimates
have been lowered for the entire European bloc. In Romania, the causes include an
inflation rate above the EU average, low foreign demand and limited financing
options. The GDP growth rate is expected to reach 3.1% in 2024 and 3.4% in 2025,
which the 2023 public deficit is put at 6.3% of GDP, instead of the 5.7%
estimated by the Romanian government. Romania is already subject to an
excessive deficit procedure and it must narrow the gap between public spending
and revenues, so as not to lose EU funding.

CONFERENCE European and Asian media professionals are taking part in
the Media and Culture Days conference, organised by Radio Romania at the Carol
I Central University Library in Bucharest. The conference focuses on the key
role played by public mass media in promoting high-quality cultural content and
in supporting diversity and inclusion, with special emphasis on local and
regional communities. At the reception held on Wednesday night at Elisabeta
Palace, H.R.H. Prince Radu emphasised the historical ties between the Royal
Family and Radio Romania, two institutions in which Romanians still have
considerable confidence.

ISRAEL The UN Security Council has adopted a
resolution calling for humanitarian pauses in Gaza, AFP reports. The
resolution, drawn up by Malta and endorsed with 12 members voting in favour,
none against and three abstentions (Russia, United Kingdom, United States) also
calls for urgent and extended humanitarian corridors in Gaza for a
sufficient number of days to allow aid for the civilians there, as well as for
the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and
other groups, especially children. Both Israel and the Palestinian side
criticised the resolution. The observer for Palestine, Riyad Mansour, said the
UN should have called for ceasefire instead of only pauses, while the Israeli
Ambassador Gilad Erdan condemned the resolution as meaningless. On site, Israeli
fighter jets hit the home of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza, the Israeli
army announced today. Haniyeh’s house was used as terrorist infrastructure and
often served as a meeting point for Hamas’ senior leaders to direct terror
attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF (Israel Defence Forces)
soldiers, the Israeli military said. (AMP)