The Atlantic Council will honor Romanian president Klaus Iohannis with the Distinguished International Leadership Award for his remarkable career, exemplary leadership of Romania, and his transatlantic and European leadership role.  The Atlantic Council’s Distinguished Leadership Awards are often referred to by media as “the Washington Oscars.” Among the honorees are a European head of state, a US cabinet official, NATO’s supreme allied commander in Europe, and an Academy Award-winning actress, according to the official press release. Each year, the Distinguished Leadership Awards convene ..read more

The colorful rapeseed fields in the southern part of Romania have been photographed by NASA from a satellite and featured in an accompanying article titled “Golden Fields in Romania.” The spectacular images were taken last month above the area where the Olt River intersects with the Danube. According to the article, NASA personnel were impressed by the brilliant yellow of the rapeseed-filled fields. “Rapeseed and canola plants are part of the Brassica family, which also includes cabbages and mustards. They produce clusters of small, brilliant yellow blooms that, en masse, blanket entire fields ..read more

UiPath, an AI-based company founded by Romanian entrepreneurs and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2021, has recruited Raghu Malpani as Chief Technology Officer.  Malpani, who was Corporate Vice President at Microsoft for the Microsoft 365 Application and Data Platform will report to the Director of Innovation and the Executive President of UiPath, Daniel Dines, and will lead the company's engineering teams. The former Microsoft executive led several global teams responsible for Microsoft Exchange Core, the Copilot semantic indexing platform, and Microsoft Graph. Raghu has worked ..read more

Production and new orders rise after nine straight months of decline Business confidence picks up, while hiring is back on the agenda Cost inflation eases and selling prices rise only fractionally An improvement in the health of the Romanian manufacturing sector was signalled for the first time in the survey's history, according to the latest BCR PMI® data. Amid reports of improved market conditions, both new orders and output increased. As a result, jobs growth was renewed following eight successive months of cuts. Meanwhile, price pressures eased and manufacturers' expectations towards fut ..read more

Raiffeisen Bank Romania continues its growth strategy in personal financial planning, up 50% in the first quarter of the year in the segment of investment plans, voluntary pensions and life insurance with a savings component. At the same time, it continued to support SMEs and accelerated investments to launch new functionalities in the mobile banking application. In terms of assets, Raiffeisen Bank Romania closes the first quarter of the year with a total of around RON 72 billion, up 11% year-on-year with an upward trend in lending to the SME sector, the engine of the Romanian economy. Loans g ..read more

Road crews have begun snow removal on Romania’s spectacular mountain road known as Transfăgărășan. Since there is less snow than in other years, the road could be opened much earlier than the usual date of July 1, according to authorities. Transfăgărășan, Romania’s second-highest road after Transalpina, is being cleared of snow so it can be used in the summer. At the moment, snowdrifts reach several meters in height, and the road crews are making their way through them with difficulty, as shown in a video posted on Facebook. "We have started clearing the Transfăgărășan! For now, we are wo ..read more

The chamber music event SoNoRo Conac has announced a new segment of its tour, which will see two concerts this month, one hosted by the Viscri house of King Charles III and the other by the Balș House in Iași. The concerts, delivered by musicians Răzvan Popovici (viola), Alexandru Spînu (viola), and Cristiana Mihart (piano), are scheduled for May 15 in Viscri and May 20 in Iași. At its 12th edition in 2024, the event takes place this year under the name L’Heure Bleue, referencing “the dreamy space created during a classical music concert.” It emerged from a desire to draw attent ..read more

Several exhibitions remain open in Bucharest during the Easter weekend, when those who haven’t left the city can enjoy the Open Streets event or visiting the Botanical Garden. In Bucharest: Open Streets Every weekend until October 13 The city's busy streets turn pedestrian in a program of outdoor events that has reached its fourth edition this year. Further details here. * During the Easter weekend, Calea Victoriei will close for traffic between 10:00 and 22:00, allowing those interested to (re)discover the architectural variety of the city and explore historic areas in the city’s downtow ..read more

Far-right Romanian senator Diana Șoșoacă has entered the race for mayor of Bucharest after gathering all the necessary signatures for her candidacy.  The Electoral Office accepted her candidacy on the very last day she was eligible to submit it. This came after her application was rejected over the weekend because she did not have enough valid signatures. To remedy that, Șoșoacă brought additional lists of signatures to the District Electoral Office No. 42, according to Digi24. Diana Șoșoacă will run on behalf of SOS Romania, the party she leads. At the same time, the senator is also the ..read more

An article recently published by US financial magazine Bloomberg highlights Romania as a potential destination for high-end travelers.  The article begins by noting that the country recently joined the Schengen Area, meaning that European Union citizens traveling there by air or sea will not need a passport. “The reasons to visit go beyond picturesque Saxon villages, beautiful mountains, and the legendary house of Dracula. (Bran Castle was erroneously linked to the fictional vampire.) Romania now emerges as an unusual luxury gem,” the Bloomberg notes.  To properly get a feel for Roma ..read more