Wednesday, January 22, 2025

The foreign policy of the Trump administration will not be like the statements made during the election campaign (Emil Hurezeanu)

The foreign policy of the Trump administration will not be like the declarations of the election campaign. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emil Hurezeanu, said in an exclusive interview for Radio România that America has invested a lot in Ukraine and will protect its interests. Regarding the future of the bilateral relationship, the head of Romanian diplomacy explained that Romania is one of the closest partners of the United States.

Emil Hurezeanu: The policy of the United States will not be the same as that of President Trump during the campaign, when he was only an expressed candidate, I think we must be patient. We are part of the circle of strategic partners of the United States. We have never given up on a very robust transatlantic partnership. It is one of the first vital national interests.

Reporter: A possible victory of the Russian Federation over Ukraine could affect the entire world configuration, Minister Emil Hurezeanu also said, and also mentioned the fact that both the United States of America and the European Union financially supported Ukraine.

Emil Hurezeanu: We do not know what will happen with the evolution of the war in Ukraine. The United States, like the European Union, have invested billions, which is an investment in their own interests. In fact, they are long-term interests, vital interests for the United States as well, because a Russian victory will be able to unexpectedly and negatively and dangerously reset the entire regional and world configuration.

The Romanian authorities are carefully monitoring the situation in the Black Sea

The Romanian authorities are carefully monitoring the situation in the Black Sea, after the failure of some Russian oil tankers in the Kerch Strait, at the end of last year, produced an ecological disaster in the area. The Minister of the Environment, Mircea Fechet, warned, yesterday, in Constanţa, that everyone must be prepared, but emphasized that the risks of the wave of pollution reaching the Romanian coast are minimal.
The Romanian authorities are evaluating the speed and direction with which the pollution wave is moving, after more than 2,000t of extremely toxic oil product reached the sea, causing the death of thousands of birds and the stranding of hundreds of dolphins on tens of kilometers of the coast. Ukrainian specialists do not rule out that the pollution wave will reach Odesa, and even if at the moment there are no indications that the Romanian coast could be affected, the Minister of the Environment asked the specialists from Romanian Waters and the Institute of Marine Research and Development in Constanța that the determination of hydrocarbons in the Black Sea water be carried out with greater intensity, in order to observe any change that would require the taking of decisions as quickly as possible.

Minister Mircea Fechet: We have a wave of pollution in the area of the Crimean Peninsula. If the pollution reaches Odesa, the chances that this pollution will be carried from north to south towards the Romanian coast increase. We intensify these determinations precisely to prepare ourselves, if necessary. At the moment we have no cause for concern, but that doesn’t mean we’re resting on our laurels.

Reporter: The Coastal Dobrogea Water Basin Administration (ABADL) makes measurements from the border with Ukraine to the border with Bulgaria.

Stelian Hagi, director of ABADL: The samples are in the works. In the context of a minimal presence of some hydrocarbons, we will enter a state of alert and implement operational measures plans to protect the coast.

The Bucharest Stock Exchange recorded the highest number of transactions in 2024

The Bucharest Stock Exchange recorded the highest number of transactions in 2024, namely 2.6 million, up 32% compared to the previous year. According to the president of the Stock Exchange, Radu Hanga, the market capitalization of listed companies has reached 363 billion lei, almost 18% more than at the end of 2023.
The number of investors continued to grow and in September 2024 reached a new all-time high of nearly 215,000, according to the latest published data. At the end of 2019, there were only 54,000 investors. 16 billion lei were attracted by the Romanian state through the Fidelis program, with the support of the Bucharest Stock Exchange, which once again shows the institution’s commitment to the local capital market and to the Romanian state, stated Radu Hanga. According to him, last year the general index of the BET stock exchange registered an advance of 8.8% and the BET-TR, which includes both capital gains resulting from the evolution of share prices and any cash distributions such as dividends, climbed to 16 percent.

Alexandra Ioniță