Minister of Defense Visits National Army Contingent in KFOR

CHISINAU, August 5, 2016 —Minister of Defense Anatol Salaru paid a working visit, within August 4-5, to the theater of operations of KFOR mission in Kosovo, where a National Army contingent is deployed.

Anatol Salaru met with KFOR mission Commander, Major General Guglielmo Luigi Miglietta, Multinational Battle Group-West (MNBG-W) Commander, Col. Giovanni Giagheddu, and Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Zahir Tanin.

The Minister of Defense met with Maj. Gen. Miglietta at the KFOR Command HQ from Pristina, where they discussed about the general situation and the latest security issues in the region. The two officials agreed on the importance of KFOR peacekeeping mission, in order to keep the stability in Kosovo and the Western Balkans region.

Maj. Gen. Miglietta appreciated the contribution of the Republic of Moldova to KFOR operation, highlighting the professionalism of National Army soldiers during the missions.

Minister Salaru expressed his gratitude for the support offered by the Italian Government to the National Army contingents deployed in KFOR. The Minister of Defense also reiterated the importance of the fact that Moldova has changed into a contributor of security and expressed his hope that, in the future, the National Army will increase its participation in international peacekeeping missions.

The Minister of Defense also met with the 41 Moldovan service members stationed at military base “Camp Villaggio Italia” in Pech village, Kosovo.

Anatol Salaru said that he is proud of the National Army soldiers who are perfectly interoperable with the troops of the thirty countries participating in this mission.

“Your performance here proves, once again, that you are very well trained. You must know that you are appreciated for your work both by the Ministry’s leadership and the entire society”, underlined Minister Salaru.

While in Kosovo, the Moldovan Defense Minister visited the “Visoki Dečani” monastery that is guarded by the Moldovan contingent and awarded National Army medals to the Commanders of the contingents of Multinational Battle Group-West.

The fifth National Army contingent that is part of Multinational Battle Group-West (MNBG-W) left for Kosovo on June 5, 2016 and has a mandate of six months.

The contingent consists of 41 service members, out of which one staff officer, 7 EOD engineers, and a platoon of 33 soldiers that carry out security, guard and patrol missions.

This is the first time when a Moldovan Defense Minister visits the theater of operations of KFOR mission.