April 13, 2023 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 13.04.2023, 20:00
Security Conference. Ukraine thanks Romania and the Republic of Moldova for their support and solidarity in its fight against the Russian aggression, the Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in Bucharest on Thursday, after the Trilateral Romania – Ukraine – Republic of Moldova, dedicated to security issues. Thursdays trilateral was a continuation of a meeting in the same format, but on energy security issues, organized in Odessa in 2022. The meeting in Bucharest was held in the context of the first Black Sea Security Conference organized by Romania and Ukraine under the aegis of the International Crimea Platform. The Black Sea region is essential for the collective defense of NATO, for European security and for prosperity, the Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu said at the conference. He pleaded for a strategic commitment of the EU and NATO in the area and reiterated Romanias support for Ukraine. 250 representatives from 30 countries participated in the event, both physically and online.
NATO. The Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, is on a visit to Romania until Friday. His talks with the Romanian officials focus on the security situation in the Black Sea region, the allied deterrence missions and the defense of the Euro-Atlantic space, as well as the major training events of 2023. The NATO official talked with the Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu about the preparation of the summit in Vilnius due in July and the implementation of the decisions of the NATO summit in Madrid. At the Romanian Defense Ministry the NATO official had talks with the Defense Minister, Angel Tîlvăr, and the Chief of the General Staff, General Daniel Petrescu. Admiral Rob Bauers agenda in Romania also includes visits to the allied commands located in Bucharest (south) and Sibiu (center), to the NATO battle group deployed in the Cincu area (center) and to the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base (southeast).
Alliance. Romania will join the Global Offshore Wind Alliance, which promotes the production and use of wind energy, under the aegis of the International Renewable Energy Agency. The Romanian government has approved the association with this Alliance, which aims to increase the share of renewable energy sources in the final consumption and to gradually abandon coal. According to a World Bank study, Romanias offshore wind potential in the Black Sea region is 76 GW. To become a member of this alliance, Romania must develop a national strategy regarding offshore wind energy, a government press release reads.
RESS. On Thursday, the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, visited the Renewable Energy School of Skills (RESS) in Constanta, south-eastern Romania. The school organizes adult courses for technicians who work in the renewable energy industry, especially the wind and solar energy. RESS has trained, in 14 years, more than 10,000 trainees, from Romania and abroad, who are working in the renewable energy sector all over Europe. “We want to protect the environment, we want to fight climate change, we want to have as much energy as possible from renewable sources”, the head of state stressed.
Government. All the ministries in Bucharest have submitted to the Government the plans to reduce budget expenses, the Government Spokesperson Dan Cărbunaru has announced. He also said that, at the next meeting of the cabinet, the saving package requested by the prime minister will be analyzed and the necessary decisions will be made. Early this week, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă asked all the ministers to urgently come up with proposals to reduce spending, given that, in the first quarter of this year, budget collection was below estimates. The Prime Minister gave assurances that there would be no layoffs, salary cuts or cuts in investments.
Smart Diaspora. The Smart Diaspora 2023 international conference ended in Timişoara, western Romania, on Thursday. The event created a space for dialogue and collaboration between Romanian researchers, irrespective of where they live and work. The 4-day event included 38 workshops, with approximately 400 participants from the Diaspora, 550 from Romania and 300 from universities that are members of the Timișoara University Alliance. The workshops were organized on various topics, from education and psychology, to global economy, governance, smart cities, entrepreneurial culture, technological transfer, sustainable food, intercultural communication, Romanian language and literature studies, artificial intelligence, cyber security, migration and mobility. Smart Diaspora is part of a series of events included on the agenda of the Timisoara European Capital of Culture 2023.
Business. The Serbia – Romania Business Forum was held in Belgrade on Thursday, hosted by the Serbian Economic Chamber. 31 Romanian companies from construction, IT, energy and transport participated, alongside 43 Serbian comanpies. In 2022, the value of trade exchanges between Serbia and Romania stood at 2.3 billion Euro. (MI)
