Minister of Defense Pays Official Visit to Romania

CHISINAU, August 20, 2015 — Minister of Defense, Anatol Salaru, met today in Bucharest with his Romanian counterpart, Mircea Dusa, as part of an official visit to Romania.

The Ministers discussed about the regional security, bilateral defense cooperation, as well as the cooperation within the regional initiatives and international organizations, with a focus on NATO and EU.

Anatol Salaru stated that, during the meeting with Mircea Dusa, it was agreed to develop a long-term defense cooperation plan for the two countries. “Republic of Moldova is situated in an area of instability, threatened by the danger from the East. Thus, we need Romania’s support in reforming the National Army and reinforcing our defense capacity”, said Anatol Salaru.

In his turn, the Romanian Defense Minister mentioned that Romania is actively contributing to strengthening the cooperation between NATO and Republic of Moldova, both in the framework of the Interoperability Platform and implementation of the Defense Capacity Building Initiative.

Minister Dusa welcomed the initiative to open a NATO Liaison Office in Chisinau, announcing that Romania will involve one of its experts in this structure. The office will offer assistance to Moldovan military authorities on evaluating the strategic threats and military risks.

Also, Minister Dusa stated that Romania encourages Moldova’s participation in regional initiatives from south-eastern Europe, in order to increase the National Army visibility and building its profile in a regional context.

Minister of Defense, Anatol Salaru, pays an official visit to Romania, within August 19-21, at the invitation of his Romanian counterpart, Mircea Dusa.