On Tuesday, May 9, the Minister of National Defence, Gabriel Les, had a meeting at the defence ministry, with a delegation of the Council of Representatives of Iraq, headed by Saleem Abdullah Al-Jubouri, speaker of the Iraki Parliament, as part of their official visit in Romania.

The talks agenda focused on the priorities of bilateral military cooperation and the contribution of the Romanian Armed Forces to the training of the Iraqi Security Forces in the framework of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL.

The two delegations had an exchange of opinions on the last developments of the security environment, mainly the current crisis in Iraq and the need to intensify the efforts of the international community to counter ISIL. In this respect, minister Les reiterated the commitment of Romania to this effort, consisting in the about 50 trainers participating in the Global Coalition in support of the Iraqi Security Forces.

The defence minister stressed the importance and the need to create the conditions for the development of bilateral military cooperation, with focus on ensuring the necessary legal framework for resuming the political and military dialogue between Romania and Iraq and the cooperation in fields of mutual interest, technical and military included.

Chairman Al-Jubouri thanked Romania for the entire support offered to his country, especially after 2003, including that related to countering terrorism and overcoming the current crisis situation Iraq is facing. Also he pledged to support the steps to resume bilateral military cooperation.

Press Department