The Minister of National Defence, Mihnea Motoc, received the US Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus, at the defence ministry, on Tuesday, June 21.

The two officials talked mainly of the defence aspects of the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the USA and the priorities of the allies with a view to NATO Summit in Warsaw.

They discussed the excellent military cooperation during the common naval projects and their importance in the present complex and unpredictable security environment that characterizes Eastern Europe. The American official reiterated the substantial committment of the US authorities to consolidating the bilateral cooperation between the Navy forces of the two states, also by augmenting the American capabilities in the Black Sea, by intensifying the program of exercises and other forms of common training with Romanian forces.

As far as allied cooperation is concerned, Minister Motoc appreciated the US support of a balanced approach to the forward presence of the Alliance on the entire eastern flank, including Romanian propositions concerning its southern part. He continued by saying he was confident this support would go beyond NATO Summit in Warsaw, in order to implement the taken decisions.

Press Department