Minister of National Defence, Angel Tilvar, and the Deputy Chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Gheorghita Vlad, met with the US Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Mike Gilday, on Thursday, 19 January, at the MoND Headquarters.

The regional security situation, with focus on the Black Sea space, was the main topic listed on the talks agenda. A special attention was paid to the status of the bilateral cooperation in the naval field and the enhancement of the joint naval training, considering the limitation of the military presence in the Black Sea of the non-riparian states, following the implementation of the Montreaux Convention as well as because of the Ukraine war.

The Defence Minister emphasized that, after 25 years of strategic partnership, the collaboration in the security field, especially in the naval one, materialized in the implementation of the Defence Cooperation Roadmap for 2020-2030 but also due to educational programs and the infrastructure development projects. The Black Sea Region has a great strategic importance for the Euro-Atlantic security. It is an important argument for which Romania appreciates the Unites States' effort in deploying significant troops and capabilities to the Eastern Allied flank and, implicitly, to our country, Angel Tilvar stated.

In his turn, the Deputy Chief of Defence Staff pointed out the effectiveness of the presence of the US soldiers, alongside the Romanian colleagues, in the field of deterrence and the positive impact in the level of training. After the launching of the war in Ukraine, the rapid increase of American troops on the Black Sea shore also meant the rapid and uninterrupted adaptation of our forces' training program. We shall participate in joint exercises and training sessions both on our national territory and on the Allied one, Lieutenant General Gheorghita Vlad said.

Admiral Mike Gilday paid a visit to Romania over 19-20 January at the invitation of the Chief of Naval Forces' Staff, Rear Admiral Mihai Panait. The American official's agenda also included visits paid to Mircea cel Batran Naval Academy, Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base and Constanta Military Harbor.

The Press Office