Besides the dialogue with the US Secretary of Defense on the first day of NATO Ministerial, Minister Mihai Fifor had several bilateral meeting with his counterparts from Great Britain, Portugal and Italy, as well as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR).

During the meeting with his British counterpart, Gavin Williamson, Minister Fifor said that Romania highly appreciates the constant and significant presence of Great Britain at the exercises and Air Police missions conducted in Romania as part of the measures to enhance allied defence in the Black Sea region. The Romanian minister said he hoped Great Britain will continue to participate in the missions conducted in Romania, meant to enhance NATO's tailored Forward Presence in South-Eastern Europe. The officials also agreed to extend bilateral cooperation on defence in the field of education and capability development.

During the bilateral meeting with his Portuguese counterpart, Jose Alberto Azeredo Lopes, they appreciated the improvement of the relations of defence cooperation between the two countries. The two officials stressed that the Strategic Procurement Program through which the Romanian Armed Forces will get the multirole fighting aircraft F-16 Fighting Falcon was a success, while the training standards and the professionalism of the Portuguese trainers warrant the quality training of the Romanian pilots. The Portuguese minister reiterated Portugal's support in implementing NATO's tailored Forward Presence in the Black Sea region and the contribution of this country to the Multinational Brigade in Craiova.

The bilateral meeting with the Italian minister, Roberta Pinotti, confirmed the mutual interest in extending further the cooperation on defence, based on the Romanian-Italian Consolidated Strategic Partnership, and the intensified character of the political and military dialogue on topics and subjects of mutual interest on NATO and EU agenda. The Italian minister reiterated Italy's support in implementing NATO's tailored Forward Presence in the Black Sea region and the contribution of this country to the Multinational Brigade in Craiova. The two officials also agreed to further cooperation on military education with a view to puting into practice projects and experience exchanges for the training of Romanian and Italian servicemen in the education facilities of the two countries.

The talks with General Curtis M. Scaparrotti, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, focused on ways of enhancing the tailored Forward Presence in the Black Sea region as part of NATO's tailored Forward Presence on the eastern flank. The SACEUR spoke highly of the cooperation with Romania both within NATO, and in his capacity of Commander of US Forces in Europe, reassuring the Romanian offcial of his entire support to enhance the tailored Forward Presence in South-Eastern Europe. The Romanian defence minister emphasized the national efforts made in this respect and the importance of a unitary appoach of the eastern flank and the commitment of the allies to the succes of the initiative.

Press Department