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During the meeting with the US Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld, the Romanian minister of National Defence, Teodor Atanasiu, mentioned that Romania wants to reorient its contribution to the international coalition efforts in Iraq. The efforts will mainly be focused in training and equipping of the Iraqi Armed Forces so that they would be able to take over additional security missions. Atanasiu also précised that the Romanian industry of defence is producing materials that could be used to meet Iraqi equipment requests and our country will have to coordinate her actions with the United States of America.
Rumsfeld stated Romania proved to be a serious partner of the United States and NATO and appreciated that the two states will develop their bilateral relations within the Strategic Partnership and the cooperation within the North Atlantic Alliance.
Atanasiu and Rumsfeld also talked on NATO’s transformation and the two countries’ participation in the fight against terrorism in the theaters of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The meeting between the two officials, was the first after the 2004 elections in Romania and the United States, and occurred Wednesday, February 9, 05 during the Informal Meeting of NATO Defence ministers in Nice, France.
MoND Press Office