The Minister of National Defence, Mircea Dusa, participated in the annual reunion of the defence attachees accredited to Bucharest, Monday May 25.

The Romanian official expressed his satisfaction for the activity conducted by the foreign defence atachees present in our country and the bilateral relations with the nations they represent.

Minister Dusa said he was willing to offer a suitable response to the new security challenges in the eastern flank of NATO by putting at the disposal of the Alliance a multinational division level command as well as hosting an NFIU.
'We consider this is a historical decision for our country, after joining NATO in 2004. First, we intend to achieve the initial NFIU operational capacity by June, this year, ahead of the Warsaw Reunion, and the complete operational capacity by the Summit in Poland, in 2016. As to the multinational division level command we intend to render its initial operational capacity before the Reunion in Warsaw and its full operational capacity by 2018, Minister Mircea Dusa said.
The defence minister pointed out the immediate assurance measures taken nationally as agreed upon at allied level, among which intensifying the Air Police missions and training activities conducted with a Canadian CF-18 aircraft detachment in the summer of 2014; at present, a mission is conducted to increase the Navy presence at the Black Sea, with a Portuguese detachment of F-16 aircraft, when the port of Constanta hosted ships from the USA and other allied states, and intensifying joint training missions of Land Forces units with similar structures from other armed forces.

In 2014, the number of exercises and training activities increased nationally by 25 percent compared to 2013, while those carried out at bilateral/allied level grew with 133 percent. In 2015 there will be more joint activities while at present, several ample multinational exercises are in progress, the defence minister pointed out.
Minister Dusa said that this year's priority of the ministry is to restore the operational capability of the Romanian Armed Forces, while achieving the commitments deriving from the status of Romania as a NATO, EU, UN and OSCE member state.

The key to ensuring the sustainability of these endeavors was by increasing the defence budget. The objectives assumed were met due to the important financial endorsement of the Government, when year 2014 was the best financial year for the defence since 2008, the Romanian dignitary added.

MoND Press Office