Aurel Ionel Lascu, the State Secretary for Armaments and Admiral Gheorghe Marin, PhD. the Chief of the General Staff, met on November 24, at the MoND HQ, a delegation of US congressmen, members in the Defence Committee of the US House of Representatives. The American delegation was headed by Ike SKELTON, the Chairman of this committee. The Romanian part was also reprezented by the leadership of the Department of Defence Policy and Planning, General Staff and Department for Armaments.

On this occasion the American congressmen were informed about the current stage and the perspectives of military bilateral relations within the framework of the strategic partnership between Romania and USA.

During the talks, that approached topics such as bilateral cooperation in theatres of operations and in various fields (personnel, procurement, etc) both parts valued the excellent team work of Romanian and American troops in the Western Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan TOs. The best illustration in this regard is the American company that acts in Afghanistan under Romanian command, a singular situation for the US Armed Forces.

After the meeting, the American delegation visited the Romanian soldiers under medical care or recovering at the "Dr. Carol Davila" Emergency Military Hospital, after having been wounded in combat missions abroad. The US congressmen expressed the gratitude of the American people for the sacrifice and heroism of these soldiers in fighting terrorism, in the name of common ideals of freedom and democracy.

MoND Press Office