November 19, 2023 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 19.11.2023, 18:40

Africa
tour. Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis on Sunday attended a farewell ceremony
held in Dar es Salaam at the end of his official visit to Tanzania, at the
invitation of president Samia Suluhu Hassan. On
Monday, Iohannis will be received by his counterpart from Cape Verde, Jose
Maria Neves. The Romanian president last Tuesday began a tour of several
African states with a state visit to Kenya, where he was received by president
William Ruto before meeting the executive director of the United Nations
Environment Program at the UN headquarters in Nairobi. The final leg of his
tour is Senegal, where Iohannis will have political consultations with his
counterpart Macky Sall. The official programme of the visit also includes the
inauguration of the United Nations House in Senegal, which will bring together
the 34 different UN agencies operating in that country. Iohannis will also meet
former Senegalese students in Romania.

Exhibition.
Romanian minister of culture Raluca Turcan on Sunday began a two-day visit to Rome to attend the
opening of an exhibition entitled Dacia, the Last Frontier of the Roman
World, a project designed and coordinated by Romania’s National Museum of
History. Taking place until the 24th April next year, the exhibition
brings together over 900 archaeological artefacts following the history of the
present-day territory of Romania over the course of over 1,000 years. During
her trip to Rome, the minister will also have talks with her Italian
counterpart Gennaro Sangiuliano and the minister of culture from the Republic
of Moldova, Sergiu Prodan and will meet Romanian nationals living in Italy and
working in the field of culture.

Gas. Romania’s gas
imports dropped by over 8% in the first nine months of the year, while
production grew by 3.1%, according to data published by the National Institute
for Statistics. Last year, imports of natural gas dropped by 16.5%. The
National Strategy and Forecast Commission estimated an increase in the natural
gas production at a pace of 3.5% a year between 2023 and 2026. An overall drop
of 23% of natural gas imports in 2023 is expected, a trend to be maintained by
2026, at an annual pace of 2.2%.

Christmas. Christmas fairs have already opened in some
big cities in Romania, with more than one month to go before this holiday. In
Craiova, in the south, a huge Christmas tree has been installed in the central
square, as well as an ice rink and 40 carousel. In Sibiu, in the centre, the
fair held traditionally in the main square has expanded this year to the
courtyard of the Brukenthal Palace. In Bucharest and Brasov, the Christmas fair
will open on 30th November, which is bank holiday in Romania.

Football. Football. Romania’s
national football side returned to Bucharest on Sunday, where they will play
Switzerland on Tuesday evening in their final Group I match as part of the Euro
2024 qualifying campaign. Romania secured their qualification for the final tournament
on Saturday, as they defeated Israel 2-1 away in a match held in Hungary. Undefeated in the nine matches played,
Romania now top the group, leading Switzerland by two points. This is the sixth
time Romania will be taking part in a European football championship, having
previously done so in 1984, 1996, 2000, 2008 and 2016. The Republic of Moldova
may also qualify for the first time in history if they win against the Czech
Republic on Tuesday away. In their group, Albania have already qualified, with
14 points, and the Czech Republic have 12 points and Moldova 10. (CM)