On Thursday, 3rd June, State Secretary for Parliamentary Liaison and Personnel's Quality of Life, Marius Balu, received the delegations of Alexandru Ioan Cuza National Association of the Military Retired and Reserve Personnel headed by its Chairman, (Ret) Lieutenant General Neculai Bahnareanu, and the Association of the Reserve Personnel of the German Armed Forces represented by its Chairman, (Ret) Lieutenant Colonel Professor Ph.D. Patrick Sensburg.

During the meeting, the parties signed the partnership between the two structures with a view of increasing the exchange of information with regard to military history and professional training, concomitantly with the promotion of traditions, common values, culture and interest in the military career as well as the support of volunteer involvement of the reserve personnel of both countries into a tighter cooperation with the active-duty military personnel from the Romanian and German Armed Forces.

I am convinced that this partnership is welcome for the strengthening of Romanian-German bilateral relations in the specific field of the military reserve, being oriented on action, and, here, I would like to thank both Chairmen of the Associations for their involvement in this initiative, State Secretary Marius Balu stated.

The initiative of this agreement started a long time ago , at local level and today, we are here to put into practice all we have intended to do. The partnership we sign represents the cornerstone of all our future activities, (Ret) Lieutenant Colonel Professor Ph.D. Patrick Sensburg stated.

(Ret) Lieutenant General Neculai Bahnareanu mentioned that the partnership between our associations is a beginning that must be continued together, in the hope that the results obtained reflect the efforts made by both parties.

The agreement also support the legitimate interests of the volunteer reserve within NATO and EU.

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National Association of the Military Retired and Reserve Personnel is established by the free will of the reserve and retired military personnel of the Ministry of National Defence. The association represents and protects the rights of the reserve and retired military personnel, their families in relation with the MoND, the other public authorities and institutions as well as with the similar organizations from the country and abroad. In the spirit of its motto: Country, Honor and Dignity, the association cultivates patriotism, fulfills the aspirations of its members in the military and social protection field.

Association of the Reserve Personnel of the German Armed Forces is made up of approximately 150,000 reserve personnel coming from the armed forces' active-duty personnel or the volunteer reserve. Its main mission is to train the volunteer reserve in three fields: mastery and use of military armament and equipment, physical training and education in the spirit of the democratic values.

The Press Office