MApN: Minister Ciuca attends conference on Romanian-US Strategic Partnership in cybersecurity

The Minister of National Defence, Nicolae Ciuca, on Wednesday, participated in the International Conference "The Romanian-American US Strategic Partnership in Cybersecurity," organized in videoconference format by the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI), through the National Centre Cyberint.

He participated as a guest in the "RO-US Strategic Cooperation Values" panel, together with the US Ambassador to Romania, Adrian Zuckerman, the Secretary of State for European Affairs, Cristian Badescu, the State Councilor of the Department of National Security from Cotroceni, Constantin Ionescu, and the first deputy director of the Romanian Intelligence Service, Lieutenant General Razvan Ionescu, shows the Ministry of National Defence, in a press release.

Referring to the developments related to the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the United States in the military field and the prospects of strengthening defence cooperation, Minister Ciuca pointed out that the implementation of this partnership generated concrete results for Romania, which contributed substantially to ensuring national security, institutional reform and the improvement of Romania's geopolitical profile.

"The strengthening of the Romanian-US Strategic Partnership represents a major objective at the national level, on the political and military level, the US being Romania's most important ally, in which context the deepening and expansion of the Strategic Partnership for the XXI Century remains a priority in the foreign policy area, a guarantee of Romania's security and stability in an increasingly unpredictable security environment," the Minister of National Defence was quoted as saying in the abovementioned press release.

Nicolae Ciuca also referred to the importance of the document that has been signed recently at the Pentagon, together with his American counterpart, Secretary of Defence Mark Esper, respectively the "Roadmap dedicated to cooperation at the defence level, for the period 2020-2030."

"One of the main directions of action in this document refers to the cooperation in the field of cybersecurity in order to prevent malicious activities and cyber-attacks on systems in the field of defence," said Minister Ciuca.

Regarding the theme of the conference, the Minister stressed the need to create and develop specialized capabilities, national mechanisms and cooperation mechanisms in risk management and threats facing the virtual environment and, especially, to strengthen resilience.

The Minister pointed out that, while authorities around the world were concerned about removing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,"some cyber actors have used the pandemic as an opportunity to launch attacks to gain financial advantage, taking thus advantage of the general feeling of insecurity of the population and the citizens' need to stay informed."

"In this age of communication and information, we attach great importance to cyber defence at the level of the entire governmental arc," Ciuca said.

In concluding his speech, the Minister of Defence appreciated the constant support of the US side for the promotion of Romania's strategic interests and for the substantial American military presence on the national territory, in order to respond to the initiatives within the North Atlantic Alliance.