The Chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Daniel Petrescu, made an official visit to the Republic of Poland, over 3rd-5th November, where he met with the Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, General Rajmund Andrzejczak, and participated in the wreath laying ceremony at the Unknown Soldier's Grave from Pi³sudski Square, Warsaw.

At the same time, Lieutenant General Daniel Petrescu visited the allied structures of the HQ Multinational Corps North-East as well as the Romanian contingent deployed in Poland which has the mission to ensure the enhanced Forward Presence on the North-Eastern Flank of the Alliance.

The meetings between the chiefs of defence of both countries aimed at consolidating the bilateral military cooperation relations and were an opportunity to assess the implementation of NATO's defence and deterrence component on the Eastern Flank of the Alliance.

The assessment of the security situation from the extended area of the Black Sea and Western Balkans, the threats to NATO's stability and security as well as the implementation of the decisions taken at the 2016 Warsaw Summit and 2021 Brussels Summit were some of the topics listed on the working agenda of the two officials. Also, the two officials identified practical aspects to strengthen the collaboration relations both at bilateral level and at NATO and EU levels by developing the joint multinational training initiative.

Military bilateral cooperation relations with Poland, a close ally and regional strategic partner, are at a high level the year that marks 100 years since the signing of the Defensive alliance convention between Romania and Poland from March 1921, the main arguments being the integration of both armed forces into multinational defensive structures, their participation in NATO and EU-led operations and missions as well as in operations conducted by other international bodies, as well as the consistent presence in training activities conducted within bilateral and allied format.

Starting 2017, the Polish soldiers have been assigned to the HQ Multinational Brigade South East and, mainly, to other allied structures deployed to Romania, thus, contributing to the assurance of NATO's tailored Forward Presence in the Southern Area of the Eastern Flank of the Alliance. Starting the same year, the small units of the Romanian AD artillery have been integrated into NATO's Battlefield from Poland, representing Romania's contribution to NATO's enhanced Forward Presence, in the Northern part of the Eastern Flank of the Alliance. The recent deployment of the Romanian AD detachment to Poland marks the tenth rotation. I thanked General Andrzejczak for the remarkable way of accomplishing the tasks assigned to the Polish soldiers within the activities conducted jointly with the Romanian ones. With respect to the Forward Presence line of effort, I informed him that the alignment and unification of NATO's defensive capabilities on its entire Eastern Flank are a priority, the Chief of Defence Staff stated.

The Press Office