There were only words of appraisal that I heard about you. You are doing a very good job here, as do your colleagues back home, who assist the flood affected population, Minister of National Defence, Teodor Atanasiu, told the Romanian soldiers in Iraq, whom he visited today together with the Chief of the General Staff, General Dr.Eugen Badalan.

The MoD delegation also included Ioan Ion, State Secretary and Chief of the Department for Armament in the Ministry of National Defence and Mihai Stanisoara, President of the Committee for Defence, Public Order and National Security in the Chamber of Deputies.

The delegation headed by defence minister Atanasiu met, in Camp Echo, near Ad Diwaniyah, with the group of staff officers that are part of the Multinational Division Center-South, and the troops of the Engineer and Intelligence Detachments. In Camp Mittica, near An Nassiryah, the delegation visited the troops of the 20th Infantry Battalion, The Black Scorpions, the Military Police Company and the staff officers that work in the Italian Joint Force Command. The soldiers talked about their missions, the personal or professional problems they are faced with.

Minister Atanasiu had a meeting with the Italian Chief of Staff, Admiral Giampaolo di Paola, who was visiting the Italian troops in the area. There were talks with different commanders under whose command Romanian troops work: Brigadier Generalul Roberto Ranucci, Commander of Ariette Brigade, Colonelul Claudio D'Angelo, Commander of MSU Regiment (Multinational Specialized Unit), and Major General Piotr Czerwinski (Poland), Commander of Multinational Division Center-South.

The visit ends in the evening when a meeting is programmed to take place in Basra, with the Romanian soldiers in the Protection Force of the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq and with the deputy commander of the Multinational Division South-East, Brigadier General Enrico Mocellin (Italy).

MoND Press Office