Moldovan-American cooperation issues discussed at Ministry of Defence

CHIŞINĂU, November 29^th 2012 — the Minister of Defense , Vitalie Marinuţa had a meeting with the Deputy Head of the planning, policies and strategies of U.S. European Command, Rear Admiral Mark C. Montgomery.

During the discussions were tackled subjects relating to the current state of the Moldovan-American cooperation in defense, security sector reform and the the progress of the National Army in preparing subunits for peacekeeping operations.

The Minister of Defense thanked the American official for the support offered by the U.S. Government to National Army in several projects in recent years, and mantioned that due to this support Moldovan soldiers gain valuable experience through their training. “The Acceptance of the Rpublic of Moldova as a partner of the Global Initiative for Peacekeeping Operations and the offer of the grant of $ 1.6 million, which will be used for development of the National Army training will enhance the effectiveness of our country participation in international operations . All the more that this summer a Moldovan company with an engineer group were rated as ‘ready for action’ being tested by international experts, ” said the Minister of Defense.

The Rear Admiral Montgomery has highly appreciated the results achieved by the Moldovan military within the Operational Capabilities Concept, specifying that it is decisive for National Army to participate in peacekeeping operations under the auspices of the United Nations. “We are pleased that through cooperation programs were recorded remarkable progress in defense reform, military training and, not least, development capabilities of Moldovan National Army military participation in stabilization and peacekeeping operations. In this context, we are willing to help also in the future the efforts of the Republic of Moldova to develop peacekeeping capabilities, ” said Rear Admiral Montgomery.

The agenda of the American official also included a meeting with the Chief of General Staff, National Army Commander, Brigadier General Vitalie Stoian.