Tag: Kishida

  • THE WEEK IN REVIEW

    THE WEEK IN REVIEW

    Visits
    in the Far East


    The Strategic Partnership between
    Romania and Japan proves that the bilateral relations have been lifted up to
    the highest level – Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said after signing together
    with Japanese Premier Fumio Kishida this bilateral treaty in Tokyo on Tuesday.
    Also on Tuesday, president Iohannis was received by Emperor Naruhito. ‘Romania
    and Japan are now close than ever’, says the head of the Romanian state adding
    that against the present global background marked by war and regional tensions,
    it is important to rely on each other to defend the fundamental values that
    define us: the desire for peace and security, freedom, democracy and human
    rights, as well as international order based on rules.




    According to experts, once the
    Strategic Partnership has been signed, the development of the Romanian-Japanese
    cooperation will be stepped up through the extension of a wide range of
    activities and projects in all the fields of mutual interest. According to
    Radio Romania correspondent, president Iohannis’ visit also had an economic
    dimension, Japan being the biggest Asian investor in Romania. The 400 companies
    with Japanese capital in Romania have created over 40 thousand jobs and the
    growth potential is significant including on the fields with the highest degree
    of innovation, such as the development of the modular reactors technology, the
    production and distribution of green hydrogen, the high-power optical cables,
    the latest generation infrastructure or the completion of a new underground sector
    in Bucharest. The partnership with Japan has been the second Romania has
    concluded with an Asian state after the one with South Korea. From Japan,
    president Iohannis went to Singapore.


    Romania is the EU’s third biggest provider
    of IT services to Singapore and its interest focuses on a stepped up
    cooperation in this field through new bilateral projects.


    Over 3.7 million Ukrainian refugees to
    neighboring Romania


    The General Inspectorate
    of Border Police, announced that on Wednesday over 7 thousand Ukrainian
    nationals entered Romania through its border checkpoints. According to a communiqué
    released to the press on Thursday, since 10 February 2022, two week before the
    Russian invasion, 3, 705,317 Ukrainian nationals have entered Romania. Most of
    them just transited the country towards other destinations in Western Europe and,
    according to the Romanian authorities, roughly 100 thousand settled here.




    Parliament in Bucharest
    endorsed a declaration of support for Ukraine, one year after the Russian
    invasion on February 24th. The document endorsed with a landslide
    majority by the main political groups, PSD-PNL-UDMR upon the proposal of the
    opposition USR is firmly condemning the war Moscow is waging on a sovereign
    state, whose territory is inalienable and indivisible. The declaration
    reiterates Romania’s firm support for what it defines as the heroic fight of
    the Ukrainian state and people as well as for the independence, sovereignty and
    territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally-recognized borders.




    The Romanians in Ukraine


    But not everything is
    bright in the Romanian-Ukrainian relations. During the debates over the
    declaration for the support of Kyiv, George Simion, the president of nationalist
    opposition party AUR pleaded for the support of the co-nationals in the
    neighboring country. Over 400 thousand ethnic Romanians are living there mostly
    in northern Bukovina, the northern and southern Bessarabia and the Herta Land,
    Romanian territories the Stalinist Soviet Union annexed through an ultimatum in
    1940. These territories were taken over by Ukraine as a successor state back in
    1991. After the Russian invasion, many of these ethnic Romanians have been
    drafted to fight for Ukraine. In December 2022, The Romanian Foreign Ministry deemed
    as regrettable the fact that the law on Ukraine’s national minorities had been
    passed in the absence of a new consultation with the Venice Commission. Its opinion, the Bucharest diplomacy believes,
    would have certainly contributed to a clear and comprehensive text in keeping with
    the European legal standards in the field. According to the aforementioned
    ministry, Romania fully supports the European roadmap of Ukraine and its
    legitimate desire to join the EU, but points to the fact that the intempestive speeding
    of legislation in this field has significantly affected the consultations with
    the representatives of the national minorities, which should have got involved
    in comprehensive discussions prior to the adoption of the aforementioned law.




    The Mystery in the Canal


    Authorities in Romania and
    Ukraine have agreed to check the depth of the Danube canals, the administration
    in Kyiv uses to ship grains abroad – government officials of the two countries
    have announced. The Danube is a major transport route for Ukraine, which after
    the Russian invasion uses it for the export of various types of goods,
    including cereals. The Romanian authorities last month voiced their concern that
    Ukraine is trying to deepen the Bystroye canal, which crosses an environmentally
    sensitive area and asked if they can check the situation. Kyiv denied that dredging
    works on the canal would have violated any accord and agreed to present the EU and
    NATO member Romania the stage of the aforementioned works. Experts are
    going to start verification this month amid Bucharest’s fears that the works
    would affect the Danube Delta’s ecosystem, a unique area in Europe, included on
    the UNESCO world heritage. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of the Infrastructure,
    after the cleaning works conducted the depth of the Canal has almost doubled
    from 3.9 to 6.5 meters.


    (bill)

  • THE WEEK IN REVIEW

    THE WEEK IN REVIEW

    Visits
    in the Far East


    The Strategic Partnership between
    Romania and Japan proves that the bilateral relations have been lifted up to
    the highest level – Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said after signing together
    with Japanese Premier Fumio Kishida this bilateral treaty in Tokyo on Tuesday.
    Also on Tuesday, president Iohannis was received by Emperor Naruhito. ‘Romania
    and Japan are now close than ever’, says the head of the Romanian state adding
    that against the present global background marked by war and regional tensions,
    it is important to rely on each other to defend the fundamental values that
    define us: the desire for peace and security, freedom, democracy and human
    rights, as well as international order based on rules.




    According to experts, once the
    Strategic Partnership has been signed, the development of the Romanian-Japanese
    cooperation will be stepped up through the extension of a wide range of
    activities and projects in all the fields of mutual interest. According to
    Radio Romania correspondent, president Iohannis’ visit also had an economic
    dimension, Japan being the biggest Asian investor in Romania. The 400 companies
    with Japanese capital in Romania have created over 40 thousand jobs and the
    growth potential is significant including on the fields with the highest degree
    of innovation, such as the development of the modular reactors technology, the
    production and distribution of green hydrogen, the high-power optical cables,
    the latest generation infrastructure or the completion of a new underground sector
    in Bucharest. The partnership with Japan has been the second Romania has
    concluded with an Asian state after the one with South Korea. From Japan,
    president Iohannis went to Singapore.


    Romania is the EU’s third biggest provider
    of IT services to Singapore and its interest focuses on a stepped up
    cooperation in this field through new bilateral projects.


    Over 3.7 million Ukrainian refugees to
    neighboring Romania


    The General Inspectorate
    of Border Police, announced that on Wednesday over 7 thousand Ukrainian
    nationals entered Romania through its border checkpoints. According to a communiqué
    released to the press on Thursday, since 10 February 2022, two week before the
    Russian invasion, 3, 705,317 Ukrainian nationals have entered Romania. Most of
    them just transited the country towards other destinations in Western Europe and,
    according to the Romanian authorities, roughly 100 thousand settled here.




    Parliament in Bucharest
    endorsed a declaration of support for Ukraine, one year after the Russian
    invasion on February 24th. The document endorsed with a landslide
    majority by the main political groups, PSD-PNL-UDMR upon the proposal of the
    opposition USR is firmly condemning the war Moscow is waging on a sovereign
    state, whose territory is inalienable and indivisible. The declaration
    reiterates Romania’s firm support for what it defines as the heroic fight of
    the Ukrainian state and people as well as for the independence, sovereignty and
    territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally-recognized borders.




    The Romanians in Ukraine


    But not everything is
    bright in the Romanian-Ukrainian relations. During the debates over the
    declaration for the support of Kyiv, George Simion, the president of nationalist
    opposition party AUR pleaded for the support of the co-nationals in the
    neighboring country. Over 400 thousand ethnic Romanians are living there mostly
    in northern Bukovina, the northern and southern Bessarabia and the Herta Land,
    Romanian territories the Stalinist Soviet Union annexed through an ultimatum in
    1940. These territories were taken over by Ukraine as a successor state back in
    1991. After the Russian invasion, many of these ethnic Romanians have been
    drafted to fight for Ukraine. In December 2022, The Romanian Foreign Ministry deemed
    as regrettable the fact that the law on Ukraine’s national minorities had been
    passed in the absence of a new consultation with the Venice Commission. Its opinion, the Bucharest diplomacy believes,
    would have certainly contributed to a clear and comprehensive text in keeping with
    the European legal standards in the field. According to the aforementioned
    ministry, Romania fully supports the European roadmap of Ukraine and its
    legitimate desire to join the EU, but points to the fact that the intempestive speeding
    of legislation in this field has significantly affected the consultations with
    the representatives of the national minorities, which should have got involved
    in comprehensive discussions prior to the adoption of the aforementioned law.




    The Mystery in the Canal


    Authorities in Romania and
    Ukraine have agreed to check the depth of the Danube canals, the administration
    in Kyiv uses to ship grains abroad – government officials of the two countries
    have announced. The Danube is a major transport route for Ukraine, which after
    the Russian invasion uses it for the export of various types of goods,
    including cereals. The Romanian authorities last month voiced their concern that
    Ukraine is trying to deepen the Bystroye canal, which crosses an environmentally
    sensitive area and asked if they can check the situation. Kyiv denied that dredging
    works on the canal would have violated any accord and agreed to present the EU and
    NATO member Romania the stage of the aforementioned works. Experts are
    going to start verification this month amid Bucharest’s fears that the works
    would affect the Danube Delta’s ecosystem, a unique area in Europe, included on
    the UNESCO world heritage. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of the Infrastructure,
    after the cleaning works conducted the depth of the Canal has almost doubled
    from 3.9 to 6.5 meters.


    (bill)

  • October 22, 2022 UPDATE

    October 22, 2022 UPDATE

    ROME Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the
    ministers making up Italy’s most right-wing and Eurosceptic cabinet since 1946
    were sworn in on Saturday, AFP reports. The head of the League formation,
    Matteo Salvini and Antonio Tajani, a leading figure in Silvio Berlusconi’s
    Forza Italia are the country’s new deputy prime ministers. The ministers appointed by Giorgia Meloni, who
    obtained with her post-fascist party Fratelli d’Italia a historic win in the
    legislative elections last month with 26% of the votes, have shown readiness to
    ease tensions caused by the coming to power of a far-right Prime Minister. The
    nomination of the former president of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani
    for the position of Foreign Minister has been hailed by the president of the
    European People’s Party Manfred Weber as a guarantee for a pro-European Italy.
    The head of the Romanian government, Nicolae Ciuca, has congratulated the new
    Italian Prime Minister, voicing his confidence that the two countries will
    continue to develop their Consolidated Strategic Partnership.








    COVID The European Centre for Disease
    Prevention and Control has cautioned against the spread of a new Omicron
    subvariant, which is expected to increase the number of infections in Europe,
    the EFE Agency has reported. Preliminary surveys conducted in Asia have shown
    the aforementioned subvariant could evade the immune response of the human
    body. Andrea Ammon, director of the aforementioned institution has called on
    European states to remain vigilant about the spread of the new subvariant and
    monitor the number of infections as well as the hospital treatment of patients.
    According to the same institution, raising the vaccination rate remains a
    priority, and that risk groups, such as the elderly and the people with
    comorbidities, need additional booster doses.










    TENNIS Romania’s best tennis player and
    two-times major winner, Simona Halep, has been provisionally suspended after
    testing positive for a banned anti-anemia blood-booster called roxadustat at
    the latest edition of the US Open. The world’s former number one, Halep
    described the ban as ‘the biggest shock of her life’ and denied knowingly
    taking any banned substance. Throughout my whole career, the idea of cheating
    never even crossed my mind once, as it is totally against all the values I have
    been educated with. Facing such an unfair situation, I feel completely confused
    and betrayed, the athlete wrote on Twitter. The 31 year old Romanian athlete
    and winner of the Roland Garros tournament in 2018, says that her fight was not
    about ‘titles and money’ but her honour and that she hoped the truth would
    eventually come out.










    PERMITS Specialised structures with the
    Romanian Interior Ministry have in the past 24 hours issued 302 residence
    permits for Ukrainian refugees. A total of 78 thousand such permits have been
    issued since March. According to authorities in Bucharest only one Ukrainian
    citizen has applied for asylum in the past 24 hours. Roughly 44 hundred
    Ukrainians have applied for asylum in Romania since the beginning of the
    conflict and they are benefitting from all the rights stipulated in the
    national legislation. According to the same sources, 83 thousand people have
    crossed the borders into Romania in the past 24 hours, out of which 93 hundred
    are Ukrainian citizens.
















    VISIT The use by Russia of the nuclear
    weapon would be ‘an act of hostility against humankind’, Japanese Prime
    Minister Fumio Kishida said during his visit to Australia on Saturday, France
    press reports. The Russian intimidation concerning the use of nuclear weapon is
    a severe threat to the peace and security of the international community and is
    absolutely unacceptable, says the leader of the only country ever hit by a
    nuclear weapon. In 2023, Kishida is expected to welcome the G7 leaders in
    Hiroshima, the town which was razed to the ground by an atomic bomb in 1945
    when 140 thousand people died. The city of Nagasaki was also bombed three days
    later. In another development, Australia and Japan on Saturday signed an
    agreement on security issues aimed at offsetting China’s military power in the
    region.




    (bill)