Minister of Defense, Viorel Cibotaru, at NATO Headquarters (video)

CHISINAU, June 23, 2015 — Minister of Defense, Viorel Cibotaru, pays an official visit to NATO Headquarters following the invitation of NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg. During his visit, the Minister stated that “Republic of Moldova and NATO share common values, and Moldova-NATO partnership definitely needs to expand”.

“In the current security context, Chisinau and the Alliance also share common concerns, and this is why our cooperation on regional security consolidation is very important”, said the Moldovan official.

During a meeting at NATO Headquarters, Minister Cibotaru and NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg discussed about Republic of Moldova-NATO partnership, its possibilities of development, the implementation of the RM-NATO Individual Partnership Action Plan for 2014-2016, and Partnership for Peace Planning and Review Process goals. The officials also identified possibilities of NATO assistance in reforming the defense and security sector, and defense capacity building for Republic of Moldova.

Minister Cibotaru appreciated Republic of Moldova’s accession to “Interoperability Platform” and “Defense Capacity Building” (DCB) initiatives launched at 2014 NATO Summit in Wales. The official expressed his confidence that the implementation of concrete projects developed by Moldovan and NATO experts will help enhance our country’s defense capacity.

The Minister stated that hopefully, on Wednesday, June 24, the Defense Ministers of the allied countries will vote for the “Defense Capacity Building Package for Republic of Moldova”. He also reiterated our country’s interest in opening a NATO Liaison Office in Chisinau, in order to facilitate the political dialogue and Republic of Moldova-NATO cooperation.

NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, underlined that the Alliance respects Moldova’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence. He said that the DCB initiative to be endorsed by the Allies aims to support our country in defense capacity building. In this way, our country will be able to defend its ideals and values that are also shared by NATO, as well as to face the challenges which might appear in a new security environment. The NATO high official thanked Republic of Moldova for the participation of Moldovan servicemembers in NATO-led operation in Kosovo, specifying that in this way Moldova proves to be a contributor to peace and stability.

Video: Ministrul Apărării, Viorel Cibotaru, la Cartierul General NATO

Sursă video: Natochannel