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National Defence Minister Mihai Fifor met on Wednesday in Brussels with US Secretary of Defence James Mattis, whom he discussed with about the security in the Black Sea region and the Romanian - US military cooperation in Afghanistan.
"On this occasion, the dialogue initiated in September in Washington continued with a focus on the strategic priorities of the cooperation between Romania and the US in the security and defence area, the developments of the security situation in the Black Sea region, as well as the implementation of decisions adopted at the NATO Summit in Warsaw regarding the strengthening of NATO's deterrence and defence posture," Fifor wrote on his Facebook page.
He mentioned, in regards to the Strategic Partnership with the US, that he talked with the US official about opportunities to strengthen the bilateral cooperation in order to consolidate NATO's advanced presence on the Eastern Flank and its unitary approach, with an emphasis on the US participation in the initiatives carried out in the Black Sea region.
"By reiterating that Romania remains a solid, predictable and trustworthy partner of the US, I underscored the significance of the US commitment in the region and the importance of its contribution in implementing the allied adapted presence at the Black Sea," Fifor mentioned.
The Defence Minister added that an important topic on the discussion agenda was the cooperation between Romania's and US's armed forces in Afghanistan, within NATO's Resolute Support mission.
"We showed that Romania observes its commitment to continue its significant participation in this mission and contribute, thus, to the security and stability of Afghanistan," Fifor informed.
He brought to mind that the meeting with Defence Secretary James Mattis took place just one month and a half after the official visit he paid to Washington in September.
"It's a clear proof of the excellent collaboration relations that we managed to intensify this year with the US. On this occasion we conveyed that Romania maintains the commitments took on within NATO and remains a credible and stable allied in the Black Sea region," the Defence Minister stated.
The meeting took place in the context of NATO defence ministers meeting, which is held in Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday.
