January 18, 2014 UPDATE
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Florentin Căpitănescu, 18.01.2014, 12:16
VISIT – Romania’s president Traian Basescu has praised Romanian-Israeli relations. President Basescu told the Israeli press that during hisvisit to Israel he would hold talks with his counterpart Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as other high-ranking officials. Basescu went on to say that peace in the Middle East could not be achieved without guaranteeing security for Israel, adding that Palestinians also deserved a state of their own. The President insisted on conveying his personal greetings to Romanian-speaking Israelis. Some 400,000 Israeli citizens at present are Romanian-born or come from a Romanian-speaking family.
IMMIGRATION – The National Strategy established by the Government in Bucharest with respect to immigration provides for setting up a legal framework aimed at helping foreigners studying in Romania obtain a permanent residence permit. According to a project put up for debate on the website of the Interior Ministry, the framework addresses graduates in fields with a shortage of highly-skilled workforce, as well as those involved in research projects. Moreover, the Government wants to create a flexible system allowing foreign investors to enter the country and stay here. Under the new programme the list of states whose citizens must obtain a special invitation before applying for a short-stay visa will be revised. Analysts say the strategy is an attempt to attract more foreign investment and to tackle the shortage of specialists facing Romania at present, given that many have chosen to relocate in the West. Some 3 million Romanians have left the country since the anti-communist revolution of 1989.
TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, currently 11th-ranked in WTA standings, has qualified to the Australian Open round of 16 for the first time in her professional career. On Saturday Halep brushed aside Zarina Dias of Kazakhstan, 6-1, 6-4. Halep has thus repeated her career best of last year, when she qualified to the US Open round of 16. In the next round Halep will play Jelena Jankovici of Serbia. In the mixed doubles competition, Romanian Horia Tecau and Sania Mirza of India have qualified to the round of 16, after pulling a win over Robert Lindstedt of Sweden and Hao-Ching Chan of Taiwan, score 4-6, 7-6, 10-3. Seeded 6th in the competition, Tecau and Mirza will play the winner of the match pitting Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia or Anastasia Rodionova of Australia and Colin Fleming of the United Kingdom.
GREEN WEEK – Romanian State Secretary Daniel Botanoiu on Saturday represented Romania in Berlin at the meeting of Agriculture Ministers as part of the “Green Week” International Exhibition of Industry, Food, Agriculture and Gardening. A total of 22 Romanian companies will be exhibiting specific food and agricultural products in Romania’s pavilion. In 2012 Romania was a partner of the exhibition, contributing over 60 companies in the food industry, whereas last year the number of firms taking part in the exhibition dropped to 24. The “Green Week” is the largest exhibition of food products, agriculture and gardening in the world. Having reached its 79th edition, this year the exhibition brings together agriculture companies from 70 countries.
GAGAUZIA – Romanian president Traian Basescu should be declared persona non-grata in the Republic of Moldova, said Mihail Formuzal, the self-proclaimed leader of Gagauzia, a pro-Russian breakaway region with a majority Turkish population and an autonomous region of Moldova. Formuzal went on to say that Romania’s president did not support the statehood of Moldova. The declaration follows after Traian Basescu told European Council president Herman van Rompuy about the situation in Gagauzia. Officials in the breakaway region will hold two referendums on February 2, calling people to vote on Moldova’s accession to the EU and the prospective independence of Gagauzia.
