State Secretary for Defence Policy, Planning and International Relations, Simona Cojocaru, and the Chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Daniel Petrescu, received the Ambassador of the French Republic, Michèle Ramis, and General Thierry Carlier, Director for International Development, General Directorate for Armaments of the French Defence Ministry, today, 3 February, at the MoND Headquarters.

The meeting was a good opportunity for discussing common interests topics regarding the cooperation with France both at bilateral level and within NATO and European Union.

A special emphasis was placed on consolidating the Strategic Partnership between Romania and France in the field of defence, with focus on the technical-military area of activity, in order to exploit the collaboration opportunities that emerge while running the procurement programs. At the same time, the talks focused on the importance of continuing the political-military dialogue on common interest topics for NATO and EU, with a view of harmonizing the national positions.

Also, the talks focused on bilateral cooperation with respect to the Enhanced Allied Presence on NATO's Eastern flank and industrial cooperation in projects under the aegis of the CDSP.

The Press Office