During an official visit to Italy, on Tuesday, July 5, the Romanian Minister of National Defence, Mihnea Motoc, had a bilateral meeting with his Italian counterpart, Roberta Pinotti. The Romanian and Italian ChoDs, General Nicolae Ciuca and General Claudio Graziano, respectively were also present at the meeting.

The two delegations agreed that bilateral defence cooperation needs to be strengthened in the framework of the Consolidated Strategic Partnership between Romanian and Italy, by developing and maintaining the military and political dialogue, intensifying common training and exercises, technical and military cooperation, participation in each other's allied command and control structures and in NATO and EU-led missions.

Related to the latest developments of the regional and international security environment, especially the crises and risks in the eastern and southern part of the Alliance, the two ministers stressed the need to intensify the strategic adaptation processes of NATO and EU, as well as the cooperation of the two organizations in order to be able to respond efficiently to the new types of threats to European security.

The two officials discussed cooperation within the Alliance, with emphasis on the important topics on NATO agenda for Warsaw Summit. The need and historic importance of consolidating allied deterrence and defence posture were stressed as central theme of Warsaw Summit, based on an omnidirectional approach, in order to counter threats to allied security, whatever the source.

In this context, the Romanian minister pointed out the ways taken into account in order to consolidate the allied adapted presence in the southern part of the eastern flank and in the Black Sea region, as concrete elements of adaptation of NATO strategic posture to the threats that manifest in the area. They discussed ways in which Italian troops could participate in implementing specific Romanian initiatives. At the same time, minister Motoc talked of the willingness of the Romanian part to participate in the NATO's main goal at the Summit in Warsaw, namely to project stability in the the proximity of the Alliance.

Press Department