The chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Daniel Petrescu, made a visit to France, over 16th to 18th November, following the invitation of his French counterpart, General Francois Lecointre.

The activity consisted in the assessment of the military cooperation fields and ways of enhancing the cooperation at all its three levels: bilateral level, within the EU as well as within NATO. The chiefs of Defence approached topics referring to the multinational training planning on the territories of both states, increase of interoperability, in the context of accelerating the dynamics of the Romanian Armed Forces transformation process, development of response capabilities during crises as well as the building of NATO multinational commands deployed to our country.

Lieutenant General Daniel Petrescu thanked the French Chief of Defence for the constant commitment of the French partners visible in the maritime operations conducted in the Black Sea, the contribution brought to the Allied assurance measures within the tailored Forward Presence, the support offered during the training undergone by the Air Force detachment for the participation in the Mali mission, the long-time collaboration between the Land Forces and French similar structures and the traditional relation between the military educational structures of the two countries.

In the context of a volatile and unpredictable security environment, the chief of Defence Staff reiterated the determination of the Romanian Armed Forces in increasing its involvement in the consolidation of NATO's defence and deterrence posture on the Alliance Eastern Flank. At the same time, Lieutenant General Daniel Petrescu said that the European endeavor at the EUMC level, of developing the strategic compass will bring the necessary clarification to maintain the EU's member states security. The key element to develop this instrument is the assessment process of the spectrum of threats and, implicitly, the strengthening of the EU response capabilities to these threats, tightly connected with similar processes within NATO.

The strategic partnership between Romania and France continues to be the pillar of the excellent relations between the two armed forces established at operational level. From the point of view of the collective defence, the North Atlantic Alliance stays the main security and stability provider of the European Union countries, most of the EU states being part of NATO, too.

The Press Office