DefMin Les: Strengthening Romania's profile as NATO, EU regional security, stability pillar - a major MApN goal

Strengthening Romania's profile as a regional pillar of security and stability inside NATO and the European Union is a steady goal of the Ministry of National Defense (MApN), Minister in charge Gabriel Les said at the 2018 stocktaking meeting of the Navy General Staff.

"One of the major goals of the Ministry of National Defense has been and is strengthening Romania's profile as a regional pillar of security and stability inside NATO and the EU, the Black Sea region being one of the most important strategic landmarks in the current security context. The security situation in the Black Sea region continues to be unstable and unpredictable. The Romanian Navy must be a modern, professional and dynamic structure, endowed with ships capable of interoperating with those of the peer structures in the North Atlantic Alliance states, and providing the opportunity to train and participate in complex naval operations under NATO command," said DefMin Gabriel Les.

In his turn, Navy Chief of Staff, Rear-Admiral Alexandru Mirsu, said that in 2019 the Navy will focus efforts on ensuring stability and security at the eastern border of the North-Atlantic Alliance and the European Union, while at the same time reinforcing the skills of the Navy troops through participation in numerous exercises. Romanian marines will participate this year, in a first, in missions in the Afghanistan theater of operations.

Also on Tuesday, the Minister of Defense participated in the Air Force Staff 2018 activity report meeting. Gabriel Les said on the occasion that "in the context of the process of reconfiguring the Alliance's military-strategic deterrence and defense posture," Romania needs "credible military capabilities with adequate endowment and well-trained troops."

"The recovery of the Defense budget and taking it to an upward trend is a major priority for Romania in the current highly complex security context. Romania remains firmly committed to reaching this level of funding in 2018 and maintaining it in the next decade," DefMin Les underscored.

Also attending the meetings for the presentation of the two structures' 2018 activity reports were Chief of the Defense General Staff, General Nicolae Ciuca, and Secretary of State Andrei Ignat. AGERPRES (RO - author: Cristian Lupascu, editor: Georgiana Tanasescu; EN - author: Simona Klodnischi, editor: Simona Iacob)