September 22, 2022

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 22.09.2022, 13:55

VISIT – Romania’s president, Klaus Iohannis, is paying a two-day visit to San
Francisco, California. On this occasion, the president will meet
representatives of the Romanian community on the US West Coast. Additionally,
Klaus Iohannis will also meet with the leadership of companies operating in the
sector of innovative technologies. Previously, the president attended the 77th
UN General Assembly meeting held in New York. In his address, the president
highlighted the need to come up with joint solutions to global challenges, from
the war in neighboring Ukraine, to climate change and access to education.
Energy security was high on the UN meeting’s agenda, and president Iohannis
pointed out that energy should not be used as blackmail.

REACTION – Romania’s Foreign Minister, Bogdan Aurescu, has firmly condemned
Russia’s latest actions, including to call a partial mobilization and illegal
referendums in the occupied regions of Ukraine. According to Bogdan Aurescu,
the decisions are in breach of the independence, sovereignty and territorial
integrity of Ukraine and international law, including the UN Charter.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS – Romania’s Foreign Minister on Wednesday attended the meeting in New York
marking 30 years since the adoption of the UN Declaration of the rights of
persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities.
According to a press release, Minister Aurescu outlined Romania’s vision in
terms of protecting the rights of people belonging to national minorities,
saying that Romania is a country where inter-ethnic and inter-cultural dialogue
lies at the center of policymaking. Minister Aurescu also attended the
ministerial meeting of the Group of Friends of Mediation, hosted by his Turkish
and Finnish counterparts in New York. Talks focused on the need to strengthen
mediation as a key instrument for preventing and solving conflicts, also
highlighting the important role played by the UN and the OSCE in this field.
Also on Wednesday, Bogdan Aurescu had bilateral talks with the Secretary
General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejcinovic Buric. The meeting
addressed hot topics on the current security agenda and the challenges facing
the Council of Europe after Russia was excluded from this organization.

DEFENSE – Romania’s Defense Minister, Vasile Dîncu, will pay an official visit to
South Korea over September 22-25. On this occasion, Vasile Dîncu will discuss
with his South-Korean counterpart a framework cooperation agreement in the
field of defense. According to the Defense Ministry, Minister Dîncu will also
meet with the Minister in charge of the programme for public procurement and
defense and the chairman of the National Defense Committee. Vasile Dîncu will
also visit the DefExpo Korea 2022 military equipment exhibition. The Romanian
official’s agenda also includes a meeting with representatives of the Romanian
community in South Korea and a visit to the War Memorial of Korea.

REFUGEES – The Romanian Border Police Inspectorate announced that some 80,000
people went in and out of Romania on Wednesday, of whom 10,000 were Ukrainian
nationals. This represents a 19% increase compared to the previous day.
Starting February 10, 2022, some 2.3 million Ukrainian citizens have entered
Romania.

MOLDOVA – The International Monetary Fund has greenlit the disbursement of 27
million USD to the Republic of Moldova, hailing progress reported by Chișinău
in the field of fiscal governance and the fight against corruption. Total IMF
aid to Moldova currently stands at 242 million USD. This is part of a broader
assistance package worth 800 million USD, which Chișinău can access over the
course of 40 months, provided it fulfills certain milestones agreed upon with
the IMF. According to the IMF, the fallout from the war in Ukraine continues to
affect the prospects of neighboring Moldova. The international lender has
recommended Moldovan authorities to maintain a proper mix of policies, in line
with inflation pressure and budget limitations. We recall that in June, Moldova
was awarded EU candidate status.

FOOTBALL – Romania’s national football team on Friday will play Finland away from
home in a match counting towards Group 3 of Europa Nations League. On Monday,
Romania will go up against Bosnia Herzegovina at home in the last group
fixture. This could be the last match for headcoach Edward Iordănescu, who has
had poor results at the helm of the national squad this season, the media
speculates. Romania is bottom of the group tables with 3 points, after Finland,
Montenegro and Bosnia. (VP)