October 4, 2024 UPDATE
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 04.10.2024, 19:49
Francophonie. Romania is promoting a vision of the Francophonie in which education, research, mobility and young people’s access to the labour market occupy a central place, president Klaus Iohannis posted on social media. He began a two-day visit to France on Friday to attend the Francophonie Summit. The 19th High-level Conference of the heads of state or government of the 88 member states, full members, associate members and observers of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) has the theme “Create, innovate and do business in French” (Creer, innover, entreprendre en francais). According to a statement from the president’s office, the participation of the Romanian president in the Francophonie Summit is an opportunity to highlight the country’s contribution to the global effort to transform and adapt multilateralism and the role of the Organisation, in a context marked by major challenges to the rules-based international order. President Iohannis is expected to attend a round-table discussion on the subject of the integration of Francophone young people into the labour market and the political priorities in the Francophone world. He will call for the consolidation of university and academic Francophonie, which is one of Romania’s major contributions to the Organisation.
Moldova. Only a few weeks ahead of presidential elections and a referendum on Moldova’s accession to the European Union, Romania’s prime minister Marcel Ciolacu promised on Friday in Chişinău that his country would continue to support Moldova to achieve its European dream. After being received by president Maia Sandu, who is tipped to win a new term in office, Ciolacu said that in order to maintain Moldova on course for Europe it was important for Sandu to win the elections and for the referendum on EU accession to pass successfully. He added that joint projects and investments would continue in the coming period. Prime minister Ciolacu also met his counterpart Dorin Recean, who called for deeper cooperation in the area of infrastructure and in the economic and trade areas, which would bring Moldova closer to Europe. He said economic and trade exchanges had grown constantly, and Romania was the biggest and most stable market for Moldovan exports.
Repatriation. More Romanian citizens and their family members will be repatriated from Lebanon, the defence ministry in Bucharest said on Friday. A Romanian Air Force cargo plane is carrying out a new humanitarian mission to Lebanon, taking around 10 tonnes of food products from the state reserve and bringing back on its return journey people who have requested assistance from the foreign ministry, amid the deterioration of the security situation in the Middle East. 69 people were repatriated from Lebanon on Thursday, according to the foreign ministry in Bucharest. More than 1,100 Romanian nationals and family members informed the Romanian embassy in Beirut of their presence in Lebanon.
Football. The Romanian football champions FCSB won their second match in in the new Europa League format, after beating the Greek champions PAOK Thessaloniki 1-nil on Thursday evening. The Greek team is managed by the Romanian coach Razvan Lucescu. In the first match of the group, FCSB defeated the Latvian side RFS 4-1at home. FCSB, Lazio, Lyon, Tottenham and Anderlecht are the only teams with maximum points after two Europa League legs. The next match of the Romanian champions is also away, against the Scottish side Glasgow Rangers.
