Minister Ciuca paticipates in "Roadmap to Warsaw Security Forum"; he spoke about Army endowment programmes

Minister of National Defence Nicolae Ciuca on Wednesday participated in the International Conference "Roadmap to Warsaw Security Forum," an event organized online by the Casimir Pulaski Foundation and the German Marshall Fund of the United States, in cooperation with NATO.

The Romanian Minister discussed, together with his counterparts from Estonia and Portugal, the security architecture in Europe, within the panel "From East to West to South: Reflecting on the Security Architecture of Europe," moderated by Zbigniew Pisarski, head of the Casimir Pulaski Foundation, shows a press release sent to AGERPRES.

According to the same source, during the discussions, Minister Ciuca highlighted the importance of permanent adaptation to geostrategic developments, including from the perspective of ensuring energy security in the Euro-Atlantic area: "Energy is part of the power elements and can be used by certain state actors as a complementary instrument in reaching their geopolitical objectives. At the same time, energy corridors have a key role to play in ensuring medium- and long-term resilience."

Asked about the endowment programs started at the level of the Ministry of National Defence, the Romanian Minister reviewed the current stage of military equipment acquisitions, giving as an example the high-tech programmes HIMARS and PATRIOT, while underscoring in the same context the political commitment of Romania to allocate 2pct of its GDP, starting with the year 2017. At the same time, Minister Nicolae-Ionel Ciuca reminded that Romania is an important provider of security and stability in the region, with a major role on the Allied Eastern Flank by contributing to NATO's advanced presence.

According to the Ministry of National Defence, the Romanian Minister of Defence also mentioned that today we find ourselves in a geopolitical reality and on deeply changed regional and global security coordinates, given the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, it is necessary to strengthen cooperation, based on common strategic values and interests, in view of future challenges. Moreover, there is a need to increase resilience, complementarity in ensuring the defence and security of the Euro-Atlantic area, including through the substantial contribution to strengthening the Transatlantic link, Minister Nicolae-Ionel Ciuca reiterated, quoted in the same press release.