February 10, 2022 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 10.02.2022, 20:00

MILITARY President Klaus Iohannis and NATO’s secretary general Jens Stoltenberg
will visit the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base 57, the Romanian Presidency
announced. The 2 officials will also discuss with the troops deployed to the
military base and subsequently will have a joint press conference. Military
equipment for the US Task Force (TF) Cougar has already reached Romania. TF
Cougar will primarily consist of a
Stryker squadron relocated from Germany to Romania to protect the region in the
context of the Russia-Ukraine standoff. President Iohannis said
after a visit to the Headquarters Multinational Brigade South-East on Thursday
that the US and France deciding to strengthen their military presence in Romania
is a ‘firm sign of the coherence and consistency of Euro-Atlantic solidarity’ and
invited other Allied countries as well to consider contributing troops to the
multinational structures in Romania.

DRILLS Russia and Belarus Thursday began 10 days of military exercises near
the border with Ukraine and Poland. According to the Russian defence ministry, the drills are aimed at the tasks of repelling
external aggression while conducting a defensive operation, countering
terrorism and protecting common interests.
NATO is concerned that the Russian military build-up in Belarus is part of a
plan to attack Ukraine. Moscow denies plans to invade Ukraine, and says it will
pull out its troops from Belarus as soon as the drills are over. According to Radio
Romania’s correspondent in Moscow, Russia relocated troops and equipment from
as far as Siberia and the Far East, 10,000 km away, for the exercise in
Belarus.

GOVERNMENT The governments of Romania and the Republic of Moldova will hold their
first joint meeting in Chişinău on Friday, with the Romanian PM Nicolae Ciucă scheduled
to also have talks with president Maia Sandu and the Moldovan parliament
speaker Igor Grosu. A joint action and solidarity plan for the energy sector
will be put together within 6 months of signing a joint memorandum on energy
security, which is scheduled for Friday, the Romanian government spokesman Dan
Cărbunaru said. He added that a bill was passed on the mutual recognition of
diplomas. Over 12,000 students and 2,000 pupils from Moldova are currently
attending Romanian schools. The 2 governments are also to sign an agreement on
Friday concerning the building, maintenance, repair and use of a cross-border
bridge in Ungheni. Another agreement between the 2 states will concern roaming
and international call tariffs.

ECONOMY Romania’s economy went up by 6.3% in 2021, thanks to a
sound domestic demand, but the pace will slow down to 4.2% this year, to reach
4.5% in 2023, according to the winter economic forecast released by the
European Commission on Thursday. Last autumn the EC estimated Romania’s GDP
would grow by 7% in 2021, with rates of 5.1% and 5.2% forecast for 2022 and
2023 respectively. The most recent data concerning confidence in the economy
indicate positive, although moderated economic growth prospects, especially in services,
retail, constructions and industry. Private consumption is also expected to
recover in the second half of the year, when restrictions will be eased out and
inflation will slow down. Meanwhile, the EC substantially adjusted its 2022
inflation forecast for Romania, from 4% estimated in November to 5.3% this
winter, after a 4.1% inflation rate in 2021.

TENNIS The Romanian tennis player Irina Begu Thursday managed a
spectacular win against Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-0, which
secured her a place in the quarter-finals of the WTA 500 tournament in Sankt
Petersburg, Russia. Another Romanian, Jaqueline Cristian, lost to Aleksandra
Sasnovich of Belarus, 6-2, 6-3, and left the competition. (A.M.P.)