While at the Meeting of NATO Ministers of Defence in Brussels, the Minister of National Defence, Mihnea Motoc, met with his Canadian counterpart Harjit Singh Sajjan, on Wednesday, October 26.

The two officials discussed the need to continue and intensify bilateral cooperation on defence in the current regional and international security context, characterized by highly complex and concerning developments. Thay also emphasized the importance of coordinating positions at allied level, with a view to implmenting the decisions made at NATO Summit in Warsaw, with emphasis on accomplishing NATO forward presence on the Eastern flank.

The Romanian defence minister showed his appreciation for Canada's solidarity and commitment to strengthening NATO's deterrence capacity on the Eastern flank and noted the consistent involvement of Canadian troops in exercises conducted in Romania and the Black Sea region at all operational levels air, land and maritime. The minister made a special note of the deployment of the Canadian air detachment, with F-18 aircraft in Romania, both at atat Campia Turzii, in 2014 and at Mihail Kogalniceanu in 2016, mentioning the Canadian frigates in the Black Sea as well.

The Canadian official emphasized that the authorities in Ottawa approach the entire allied Eastern flank in a unified manner, participating as such in the efforts to strengthen the deterrence posture both on the Northern and the Southern segment. He also emphasized the recent decision to contribute with staff personnel in the effort to render operational the Multinational Brigade in Craiova, and the intention to maintain the deployment of the Canadian air detachment, with F-18 aircraft in Romania and of the frigates in the Black Sea.

Press Department