At the beginning of the official meeting, the Minister of National Defence, Mircea Dusa, thanked NATO Secretary General for the work done in the North-Atlantic Alliance and said he considered Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s leadership, during the five years of his mandate has had a positive impact on NATO.

In turn, the Alliance`s Secretary-General thanked the Minister of National Defence for the increase of the defence budget, appreciating that Romania understood the need to ensure proper funding of the defence segment.

In this respect, Minister Mircea Dusa reaffirmed Romania's Government commitment to supplement the funds of the institution with a view to modernizing and equipping the Armed Forces of Romania. The analysis of the security situation in the region was another topic on the agenda of the meeting.

The Secretary-General has brought into question the themes on the agenda of the meeting of the North Atlantic Council in defence ministers' format, which will be held in Brussels on 3 and 4 June, considering that this event will be the preliminary stage of preparation of the Wales Summit of September this year.

'The project I endorse, that is the need to set NATO bases on the eastern flank of the Alliance, is an ambitious plan that we will discuss at the Summit, where we will take decisions on the long-term measures necessary to strengthen collective defence. Collective defence remains NATO's primary mission'.

The two officials also discussed Romania`s participation in the future NATO operations, maritime and air security systems, as well as the missile defense system.

MoND Press Office