Defence Minister Mihai Fifor laid a wreath on Monday at the Memorial to the Heroes fallen in operation theatres and in Romania in the Bucharest Youth Park.
Wreaths were also laid by representatives of the accredited Military Attachés Association in Romania and of the “Holy Great Martyr George, the Victory-Bearer” Foundation.
A memorial service was performed by the military priests with the Land Forces at the ceremony in the Bucharest Youth Park.
The Day of Romania’s Land Forces, whose patron saint is the Holy Great Martyr George, the Victory-Bearer, is celebrated every year on April 23. On this occasion, all garrisons in the country and in theatres of operations organize various manifestations.
President Iohannis: Romania is democratic, modern country, which needs a strong army
President Klaus Iohannis on Monday sent a message on the Land Forces Day, pointing out that Romania is a democratic and modern country that needs a strong army to strengthen its profile in NATO and the European Union.
“The celebration of the Land Forces Day, whose spiritual patron is the Holy Martyr George, the Victory Bearer, has this year’s special significance. The Centenary of the Great Union reminds us, more than ever, that our army is one of the pillars on which, over the years, national independence and sovereignty have been consolidated, two of the foundations of Romania’s statehood. Our troops are those who, by their blood sacrifice, have made it possible to maintain the indivisible unity of our country. Today’s Romania is a democratic and modern country, which needs a strong army to strengthen its profile in NATO and the European Union, in the context in which Euro-Atlantic cooperation must be the basis for European security and stability,” the head of state says in his message.
In this context, he points out that the process of modernization and endowment with advanced military hardware must be continued in terms of the activity and missions the Land Forces have to carry out, being indispensable for the firm assumption of their responsibilities in the implementation of NATO summits’ decisions.
The head of state appreciates in particular the efforts made during the important stages of training and for the achievement of higher levels of training and fighting capacity, together with the other categories of forces, as well as in carrying out the missions in the country and in the theaters of operations.
“Romania is consistently following the implementation of the decisions assumed at the NATO Warsaw Summit in 2016 and allocates 2 percent of the GDP annually to the defence budget so that our army can become more effective in countering the threats to the security of Romania and NATO,” emphasizes Iohannis.
He wishes to the military and civilian staff within the Romanian Land Forces success in their professional activity and good health.