The Defence Leadership of the Kingdom of Belgium paid a visit to Cincu

On Monday, December 18, State Secretary for Defence Policy, Planning and International Relations, Simona Cojocaru, and the Chief of the Defence Staff, General Gheorghițã Vlad, met with the Minister of Defence of the Kingdom of Belgium, Ludivine Dedonder, and the Belgian Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Michel Hofman, at Getica National Training Center in Cincu, Brașov. The meeting took place on the occasion of the visit that the allied officials made to the Belgian troops of the NATO Battle Group deployed to the Romanian training facility.

The dialogue covered topics such as the assessment of the security situation in the Black Sea region, the stage of rendering the Battle Group operational in order to be raised to brigade level, respectively the planning of exercises, operations and investments.

"We thanked the Minister of Defence of the Kingdom of Belgium for the excellent cooperation and particularly valuable contribution to the development of Battle Group from Cincu. All the nations involved in rendering operational this important NATO project demonstrated professionalism and showed what allied solidarity means on the ground. The relations between the Romanian soldiers and the foreign forces deployed to Cincu are excellent. They contribute to our future success and to the consolidation of bilateral relations. Romania is actively engaged in the development of the Battle Group, which includes infrastructure improvements. We recognize the progress made so far and we will continue to provide all the necessary support as host nation", State Secretary Simona Cojocaru said.

The Romanian Chief of Defence thanked his counterpart for the contribution of the Belgian Armed Force to the consolidation of the allied deterrence and defence posture in our country.

"In terms of joint training, the presence of Belgian troops in our country created real opportunities for the increase of the structures’ interoperability within NATO context. In the format of the European Union, the convergence of the two countries' strategic security interests is also reflected in the participation of the Romanian and Belgian troops in the EU-led operations in the Western Balkans, as well as in Africa. A symbolic indicator of military cooperation is the recent participation of the Belgian partners in the December 1st parade", General Gheorghițã Vlad stated.
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The NATO Battle Group in Romania was established in May 2022, at the proposal of France, which took over the framework nation role for the forward detachment of NATO's Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF). The presence of the Battle Group in our country substantially contributes to strengthening the security of the Euro-Atlantic space on the eastern flank.

The Press Office