Defence Minister’s Meeting with the U.S. Under Secretary of War for Policy

Minister of National Defence Ștefan-Radu Oprea received the U.S. Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby at the MoND headquarters on Wednesday, 4 November.

The talks focused on deepening defense cooperation under the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the United States and accelerating the implementation of NATO 3.0.  It covered security developments in the Black Sea region and the strengthening of deterrence by denial and the defense posture of NATO’s eastern Allies, especially as the impacts of the war in Ukraine spread throughout the region.

Minister Oprea stressed the strategic importance of the Black Sea region for Euro-Atlantic security and how Romania is building defense capabilities to maintain a strong deterrence and defense posture on NATO's Eastern Flank.  He underlined Romania's plan to meet its NATO commitments as the Alliance moves to implement NATO 3.0.

The Romanian Minister of Defence reaffirmed Romania's interest in supporting a U.S. military presence on its territory in line with U.S. and NATO requirements.  He described the strategic and operational advantages Romania offers for reaching shared security goals in the Black Sea region and for strengthening Allied defense in Southeast Europe.  He also presented Romania's efforts to modernize its armed forces, develop military infrastructure, and provide improved conditions for hosting and supporting U.S. forces.  He emphasized that these efforts show Romania's commitment to take on greater responsibility for the conventional defense of Europe.

Given the changing threats in the Black Sea region, Minister Oprea stressed the importance of Romania building stronger air and missile defense, counter-unmanned aircraft system (counter-UAS) capabilities and protection of critical infrastructure capabilities.  He also said Romania wants to expand defense industrial cooperation with the United States, including projects in production, maintenance and logistics support.  These projects would help keep critical capabilities operational and strengthen Europe’s and Romania's defense industrial base.

At the end of the meeting, officials reaffirmed their shared commitment to developing a results-oriented Strategic Partnership between Romania and the United States and committed to continuing dialogue on security and defense.

The Press Office