Premier Menachem Begin said he has accepted an official invitation to visit Rumania and indications are that he may be going to Bucharest by the end of this month. An official announcement on the exact date of the visit is due to be announced shortly in Bucharest and Jerusalem simultaneously. Begin’s visit will be the second time an Israeli Premier has gone to Rumania. Premier Golda Meir was there in 1972.
The current invitation is a renewal of the one that had been extended to Yitzhak Rabin when he was Premier. That visit, however, never materialized. Israeli political circles attribute a great deal of importance to Begin’s upcoming visit in view of Rumania’s position among the Third World countries and her position in the Arab world. Rumania is the only Communist bloc country which did not break diplomatic relations with Israel and was among the first of the countries to congratulate Begin after he took office.
Meanwhile Austrian Chancellor Bruno Kreisky said that Begin has a standing, open invitation to visit Vienna. There are also ongoing negotiations for Begin to visit Paris toward the end of this year.
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