November 19, 2019 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news.
Newsroom, 19.11.2019, 19:57
VISIT – Romanian Defense Minister Nicolae-Ionel Ciuca visited on Tuesday, at the invitation of the US Embassy in Bucharest, the military base in Deveselu, southern Romania, where the Aegis Ashore anti-missile system is located. Minister Ciuca reiterated, on that occasion, the system’s defensive role. The members of the official delegation, that included ambassadors of NATO member states, hailed the efforts made by Romania in rendering the system operational, as well as the support offered by the US to Romania’s hosting the military base, reads a release of the Romanian Defence Ministry.
FORUM – Romanian Culture Minister, Bogdan Gheorghiu, participated on Tuesday in Paris in the Ministers’ Forum at the 40th UNESCO General Conference. The Romanian minister highlighted the importance of building an infrastructure and of improving the legal framework in order to maximize the economic potential of Romania’s cultural and creative sectors. He also said that the Bucharest authorities will encourage the actors of the Romanian digital sector who proved their skills on the global market. Romania controls 5% of the offshore market of software development products, ranking third in terms of export, after India and China, the minister explained.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS – Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu will attend on Wednesday in Brussels the meeting of the NATO foreign ministers. Ministers meet to finalise preparations for the meeting of NATO leaders in London. Ahead of the meeting, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stressed that despite differences among Allies, NATO has grown stronger over the last seventy years and continues to provide security for almost 1 billion people. Foreign Ministers are expected to recognize space as an operational domain, alongside air, land, sea and cyber. The Alliance’s work to counter hybrid threats will also be on the agenda. Ministers will also discuss other strategic issues, including NATO’s dual-track approach to Russia, the implications of the rise of China, energy security, and the future of arms control. The Secretary General stressed that NATO is the only forum that brings nations from Europe and North America together, to address strategic security challenges.
ELECTION – In Romania, the campaign for the second round of the presidential election continues. The vote is scheduled for Sunday, November 24th. Competing are the incumbent president, Klaus Iohannis, backed by the National Liberal Party in power, and the former Social Democrat PM Viorica Dancila. According to data made public by the Central Electoral Bureau and validated on Friday by the Constitutional Court, in the first round Klaus Iohanis got 37.82% of the votes and Viorica Dăncilă 22.26%. The turnout was 51.19%. Abroad, where Romanian citizens were able to vote Friday through Sunday, record-large numbers of voters showed up in polls (over 675,000). In the runoff as well, the Romanians living abroad will have 3 days to cast their ballots, between noon on Friday and Sunday at 9 PM, with a possible extension to midnight.
AUTOMOTIVE – In October Romania was the most dynamic automobile market in Europe, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association announced. Last month, around 11,000 vehicles were registered in Romania, up 58.1% since the same month last year. In the first 10 months of 2019, around 135,000 automobiles were registered in Romania, accounting for an annual growth rate of 18.9%, whereas the European automobile market saw a 0.7% decline. Dacia reported a 7.8% rise in sales in Europe in October, to 40,687 units. The Romanian carmaker Dacia was taken over by Renault in 1999. Relaunched in 2004 with the new Logan model, Dacia turned into a major player in the European automobile market.
THEATRE The Government of Japan awarded the Order of the Rising Sun to the actor Constantin Chiriac, director of the Radu Stanca National Theatre in Sibiu and president of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, in recognition of his contribution to promoting the Japanese culture in Romania and the cultural exchanges between the 2 countries. The Order of the Rising Sun was established in 1875, and is one of the most important decorations bestowed by the Japanese government, second to the Order of the Chrysanthemum, and is the highest awarded to foreign citizens, for distinguished achievements in international relations, for the promotion of the Japanese culture and of projects aimed at preserving the environment.
(Translated by Elena Enache)
