The Chief of Defence Staff, in the first NATO Military Committee in Chiefs of Defence Session of 2025

The Chief of the Defence Staff, General Gheorghiță Vlad, participated, over January 15-16, in the NATO Military Committee in Chiefs of Defence Session (MCCS), organized at the Alliance headquarters, in Brussels.

The meeting's agenda focused on topics related to the ongoing missions, including the Military Assistance Mission in Ukraine, the allied defence planning process, the cooperation with partners and measures to accelerate standardization and interoperability.

The Chief of the Defence Staff emphasized the fact that the Romanian Armed Forces would continue to contribute to the joint allied efforts to strengthen the deterrence and defence capacity. "Our country remains fully committed to supporting NATO's process of adapting the command & control structures and aligning them with the family of plans within the Concept of Deterrence and Defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area. We continue to support the states in the Western Balkans and provide multidimensional support to Ukraine. Complementary to the efforts made to strengthen the eastern flank, we want to consolidate security in the Black Sea region as well, an area of ​​strategic importance for the entire Alliance," General Gheorghiță Vlad stated.

As part of the event, the Romanian Chief of Defence Staff had bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Canada, Switzerland, France, Georgia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. Also, General Gheorghiță Vlad held talks with the Japanese Chief of Defence, General Yoshihide Yoshida, thus marking a historical milestone - the first meeting between the highest military officials from Romania and Japan, states that became strategic partners in 2023. At the same time, General Gheorghiță Vlad  also had a first round of talks with the new Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, Admiral Pierre Vandier.

***

The Military Committee of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is NATO's highest military authority. During a year, the Chiefs of Defence Meetings are held, as a rule, twice at the NATO headquarters in Brussels and once in one of the member countries of the Alliance. Also, the Military Committee can meet in different formats, such as within the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council or for other specific situations.

The Press Office