DefMin Ciuca expresses consistent support for NATO 2030 initiative in preparation for Alliance Summit

Minister of National Defense Nicolae-Ionel Ciuca expressed on Tuesday at the Meeting of NATO Defence Ministers, in video-conferencing format, in preparation for the June 14 NATO Summit, the consistent support for the NATO 2030 initiative, for the related perspectives and decision-making coordinates, as a fundamental effort to adapt the Alliance to current and future security coordinates and requirements, globally and regionally, in order to strengthen the political dimension of the Alliance, strengthen its role as a key player in managing the challenges of competition among the great powers, as well as maintaining its military capability, agerpres reports.

According to the Ministry of National Defense (MApN), the Romanian official stressed the importance of implementing concepts and approaches dedicated to the planning construct and ensuring the collective response in the Euro-Atlantic space as a facilitator of NATO strategic objectives, including on the eastern flank and in the Black Sea region. The mid-June summit of the Alliance will play a central role in stimulating efforts in this regard. Against this background, the minister of National Defense mentioned the support for the subsumed perspective to facilitate an appropriate force structure for achieving the collective objectives of deterrence and defense. At the same time, he highlighted the need to ensure the necessary resources to meet these objectives, says the release.

Additionally, Nicolae-Ionel Ciuca emphasized the importance of ensuring strategic resilience as a fundamental attribute of the credibility of the Alliance's position and collective capacity.

"Romania's commitment to this component is important, including through the establishment of the Euro-Atlantic Center for Resilience in Bucharest, and we invite our allies to participate in its development," the Romanian official said, according to the cited source.

The Minister of National Defense also stressed the need to implement a focused, coherent and coordinated approach as regards the support granted to NATO partners, especially in relation to the capability and training development component, in a manner fully related to specific security challenges and risks.

Minister Nicolae-Ionel Ciuca highlighted, under the comprehensive approach on the Alliance's security, the importance and support for the NATO initiative aimed at stimulating innovation at Allied level, aimed at the new technologies component. At the same time, he reiterated Romania's commitment to the three dimensions of ensuring the fair sharing of responsibilities (financial resources, capabilities, contributions), highlighting the overcoming, in 2021, in a difficult context caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, of the established percentage parameters at Allied level on the defence financial allocations component.