November 18, 2023 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 18.11.2023, 20:00

VISIT President Klaus Iohannis is in Tanzania, the second stage of
his African tour which also included Kenya and will take him to the Republic of
Cabo Verde and Senegal. During talks with top level officials, president Iohannis
presents Romania’s outlook on reviving its relations with African countries,
based on the recently adopted national strategy for Africa. On the other hand, the
Romanian official also set out to present Bucharest’s views on regional and
international security, given the country’s proximity to Ukraine. We discussed
ways to manage the multiple consequences of the war, including in terms of
ensuring the food security of countries in Africa, Mr. Iohannis said after the
talks with the president of Tanzania, Samia Hassan. I have presented the
comprehensive political, diplomatic, logistical and administrative measures
taken by Romania to facilitate Ukrainian grain exports, including to the
countries in Africa, he added. Klaus Iohannis is to travel on Monday to Cabo
Verde, to meet with his counterpart José Maria Neves.

ISRAEL We agree on the principle of
no forced displacement of Palestinians and a political horizon based on a
two-state solution, the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen
said at the end of a meeting with the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi
in Cairo on Saturday. In turn, the EU diplomacy chief Josep Borrell said in a
conference at Manama on Saturday that the Palestinian Authority is the only one
that could govern Gaza after the war between Israel and Hamas. News agencies
mention that a week ago the Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu raised fresh concerns
with respect to the future of Gaza, stating that the Palestinian Authority in
its current form should not be taking control of the enclave. The German
chancellor Olaf Scholz and Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, meeting in
Berlin, voiced their strong disagreement with the war in Gaza. Both Germany and
Turkey are worried about the suffering of the Palestinian people, but while Scholz
spoke about the need for humanitarian pauses in order to provide aid, Erdogan called
for a ceasefire, an option rejected by Israel. On site, Palestinian medical
sources announced that scores of people were killed or wounded on Saturday in Khan
Yunis, in the south of the Gaza Strip, following Israeli air strikes. On Friday
Israel had announced it would expand military operations in the south, after handing
out fliers in Khan Yunis the previous day asking civilians to head for the tent
camps on the sea coast in order to avoid the massive shelling planned by the
army. Israel’s ex-PM Ehud Olmert told Euronews that the Hamas underground
command centre was in Khan Yunis, and not at the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

TERRORISM A young Romanian national
from Braşov (central Romania) has been taken into custody for promoting
terrorist propaganda materials, the Directorate Investigating Organised Crime
and Terrorism Offences announced. The young man praised terrorist organisations
from the Middle East on his social media account, and posted instructions for
the production and use of firearms and explosives.

CHRISTMAS In the city of Craiova, southern
Romania, hundreds of people witnessed the nearly 2 million lights of the local
Christmas Fair being turned on Friday night. This year’s fair is themed around
the Andersen’s fairy tale The Snow Queen, and all the decorations are white
and turquoise. A giant Christmas tree, a 40m tall merry-go-round and a skating
rink are the main attractions. Concerts and creative workshops will also be
held here until the 2nd of January. Sibiu, in central Romania, also
opened its Christmas Fair in the city’s main square. For the first time this
year, the Fair includes the courtyard of the Brukenthal Palace, a historical
monument built between 1778 and 1788.

AMBASSADOR The foreign minister Luminiţa
Odobescu Friday received the new British Ambassador to Romania, Giles Portman. On
this occasion, Mrs. Odobescu highlighted the important role of bilateral
cooperation in defence and security and the significant potential in the field
of trade and investments, as well as the substantial contribution of the 1.2
million Romanians living in UK to strengthening the ties between the two
countries. In 2024 Romania will host the second Romania-UK Bilateral Forum,
after the first edition of the event held this March in London. (AMP)