The Minister of National Defence, Gabriel-Beniamin Les told on Friday the US ambassador, Hans Klemm that the United States’ involvement is essential for strengthening peace and discouraging all threats and risks to the European security.
“Minister Les introduced the Government’s strategic priorities in the defence and security domains, focusing on the commitment to ensure two percent of the GDP for defence, and pointed out the importance Romania is granting to the development of the Strategic Partnership with the USA. The Minister of National Defence appreciated the firm commitment of the United States and the presence of American troops on the national territory, highlighting that the US involvement is essential for defence strengthening and for discouraging all the threats and risks faced by the European security, especially the ones on the eastern flank of the Alliance,” reads a press release of the Ministry of National Defence (MApN).
According to the cited source, the topics tackled revolved around the developments in the regional and international security environment, as well as the directions to boost defence cooperation, bilaterally and within NATO.
Gabriel-Beniamin Les presented Hans Klemm the implementation status of the decisions made at the NATO Summit in Warsaw, with a focus on accomplishing an advanced NATO presence on the eastern flank and stressing the importance of intensifying efforts to implement efficiently and within the agreed deadlines, the decisions in this domain. In the context, it was reiterated the importance of the Black Sea for the entire Euro-Atlantic security and stability,” added the MApN.
As recalls the mentioned source, Ambassador Klemm thanked for Romania’s essential contribution to the regional and international security, emphasizing the “operational efforts of the Romanian armed forces in Afghanistan, Iraq and other operations theatres.”
“The ambassador reiterated the strong commitment of the Washington authorities to strengthen the Strategic Partnership’s defence dimension, resulting in increasing the presence of the US forces in the region and intensifying the bilateral programmes as regards the exercises and training,” the press release further mentions.