George Cristian Maior, State Secretary and chief of Department for Euro-Atlantic Integration and Defense Policy is in official visit in Canada between May 26 and June 1, 03. In the first two days he had a series of official meetings to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Department of National Defense and General Staff of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Mr. Maior met James Wright, the assistant of deputy minister of Foreign Affairs, General G. E. MacDonald, deputy chief of Canadian General Staff and Kenneth Calder, assistant for policy of the minister of Defense. The Romanian dignitary also met Dominique Leblanc, representative of the Commission for Defense of the Canadian Parliament. State Secretary Maior addressed in Romania's behalf thanks for the Canadian promptness in ratifying the protocol of joint to NATO mentioning that it was the first NATO member finalizing this process.

A round table of bilateral talks with the main representatives on policy of security within NATO, with international missions and security missions in Central and South-Eastern Europe was organized May 28, 03. The debated issues were on: Romania's joint to NATO and the reform of the Armed Forces, the process of NATO's transformation and the cooperation with EU and the aspects of regional security and the peace support operations developing now. State Secretary Maior presented in this context the main elements of the Romanian policy of security and defense and our country's implication in the theaters of operations in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq. The Romanian and Canadian officials saluted NATO's decision in assuming a more important role within ISAF specifying it is according to the Alliance conception of adaptation to a changing environment of security where the main threats towards the European security are coming from the outside of the European continent.

The discussions on the reform of the Romanian and Canadian Armed Forces focused on the increase of real elements characterizing the bilateral military and strategic cooperation according the future status of Romania as a full member of the Alliance. They convened that the joint to NATO will give a new substance of the Romanian - Canadian cooperation having in view the two states participation to the military capabilities of the North Atlantic Alliance.
State Secretary George Cristian Maior will continue the discussions with the Canadian officials from the two ministries and will visit the Royal Military College from Kingston, Ontario. There he will have talks on the bilateral cooperation in military and educational training having in view the present process of reform of the Romanian system of training of civilian and military personnel.

Dep. for Euro-Atlantic Integration
and Defense Policy