On Saturday, February 17th, the second day of the Security Conference in Munich, Defence Minister Mihai Fifor participated in several round tables with the officials attending the event, a working breakfast hosted by Cohen Group and a working lunch hosted by the German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen. He also had a series of bilateral meetings with the representative of the US Congress Mike Turner, with the Dutch Defence Minister Ank Bijleveld, as well as meetings with the President of Lockheed Martin, Marillyn Hewson, and the former NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

During the working breakfast that is traditionally hosted by Cohen Group, minister Mihai Fifor had in-depth discussions on European security and the agenda of the next NATO Summit in Brussels, in July. The event was attended by his American counterpart, James Mattis, General Curtis Scaparrotti, SACEUR, defence ministers from other EU and NATO countries, US military and civil leaders and members of the US Congress.

During the working lunch hosted by the German Defence Minister, Ursula von der Leyen, the Romanian official stressed the importance of bilateral, multilateral and regional meetings in defining the positions of NATO member countries regarding the management of security risks. In this respect, minister Fifor highlighted the usefulness of organizing the Defence Ministerial in B9 format in Bucharest, in March, for harmonizing the positions of the allies on the eastern flank, in cooperation with the USA, in order to ensure a unitary approach in the perspective of NATO Summit of July.

The talks with the German counterpart focused on bilateral military cooperation, namely the development of a strong cooperation in the field of military intelligence, in the context the the current security context. The Romanian official pointed out Germany's firm involvement in playing a decisive role within NATO and in developing the defence capabilities within the EU.

During the meeting with the President of American Company Lockheed Martin, Marillyn Hewson, the talks focused on military cooperation, as the defence ministry plans to develop the major procurement program, HIMARS. On this occasion the Romanian official reiterated the importance of developing the cooperation with Romanian companies of the defence industry.

During the meeting with Mike Turner, a member of the US Congress, minister Mihai Fifor reiterated that Romania will continue to stand by its commitments to the allies and to the Strategic Partnership with the USA. On this occasion he reiterated the importance of the transatlantic relation and the need to cooperate fully with the American partner to strengthen European security, especially in the Black Sea region.

The meeting with Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the former NATO Secretary General and founder of Rasmussen Global, revolved around topics related to the main risks and threats to global security, with focus on Brexit and the situation in the Ukrainean and the Black Sea region.

During the bilateral meeting with the Dutch Defence Minister, Ank Bijleveld, they discussed European security, bilateral defence cooperation but also at European and allied level.

The Press Office