Defence Minister Gabriel Les, received the Chairman of the American-Romanian Business Council, Eric Stewart, at the MoND Headquarters.

The officials talked about the excellent relations between the two countries in the field of security and defence, Minister Les appreciating the fact that the development of the Strategic Partnership with the USA represents an important goal of Romania's Government, this proving essential for an efficient response to the challenges generated by the regional and international security environment .

Taking into account that 2019 is the third consecutive year when the defence budget represents 2% of the GDP, the defence minister expressed the wish for new cooperation opportunities as well as for the increase and expansion of the US investments in the Romanian defence industry.

Also, minister Les appreciated AMRO initiative with regard to the organization of the second defence Romania-USA Forum. The first such forum was organized last year, with the participation of the Republic of Moldova.

Another topic on the talks agenda was the increased cooperation in the field of industrial cooperation at the EU level, minister Les emphasizing the fact that the involvement of the US companies in the building of the European industrial defence architecture is important.

The Press Office