The Minister of National Defence, Mihnea Motoc, met with the defence minister of Netherlands Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, at the defence ministry, on Thursday, October 6.

During the meeting, the two officials discussed security in the Black Sea region and topics high on NATO and EU agenda, with a focus on implementing the decision of NATO Summit in Warsaw and the EU Global Strategy on defence and security.

They also discussed the importance of continuing the high level political and military dialogue with a view to a concrete military cooperation in bilateral and multilateral format. Mention was made of the good cooperation between the Romanian and Dutch military, especially within NATO and EU, by participating in multinational exercises and they agreed on intensifying common training activities.

They also mentioned the need to implement the decisions adopted during Warsaw Summit, namely to take the measures meant to strengthen the eastern flank. As for the consolidation of NATO defence and deterrence posture, minister Mihnea Motoc and his Dutch counterpart agreed on continuing the actions needed to ensure NATO's forward position along the entire eastern flank, that should be an adapted response of the Alliance to the specific threats of the Black Sea region.

During the talks about implementing the EU Global Strategy, the two officials agreed that it is important to continue the dialogue about the participation of all member states in the process of revitalizing the common security and defence policy.

The Dutch defence minister appreciated Romania's ongoing commitment to the process of stabilization in Afghanistan, through a consistent participation in Resolute Support mission and the involvement in the international effort against the IS terrorist group.

At the end of the meeting, the two ministers signed the Letter of Intention on the development of bilateral military cooperation.

Press Department