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Minister of National Defense Nicolae-Ionel Ciuca will participate on Tuesday in the virtual meeting of NATO's Defense Ministers, coordinated from the NATO Headquarters in Brussels by the organization's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the National Defense Ministry announced in a release.
According to the cited source, the ministerial event is organized as a defining stage for the preparation of talks and decision-making landmarks of the June 14 NATO Summit.
To this effect, the agenda of the NATO Defense Ministers meeting will be oriented along the coordinates of the NATO 2030 initiative, with emphasis on deterrence and defense, resilience, innovation and support for NATO partners.
"The allied officials will also address developments in the implementation of defense investment pledges, as well as aspects related to the conclusion of the Resolute Support Mission and the future of the NATO-Afghanistan relationship," the statement said.
The Romanian Defense Minister will express support for the perspectives and decision-making coordinates of the NATO 2030 process, as a fundamental effort to continue adapting the collective deterrence and defense posture to the present and future security requirements.
"In this context, Mr. Ciuca will emphasize the importance of strengthening NATO's presence on the entire eastern flank, as well as ensuring the adequate pooling of resources to meet the objectives underlying the Alliance's level of ambition," the Defense Ministry said.
The Romanian official will reiterate the Romanian side's commitment to the three components of the fair sharing of responsibilities (financial resources, capabilities, contributions), with a focus on maintaining commitments to ensure an adequate Defense budget of at least 2% of GDP, the National Defense Ministry notes.
"From the perspective of approaches to Afghanistan, the Romanian Defense Minister will emphasize the importance of maintaining allied support for the Afghan authorities even after the conclusion of the Resolute Support Mission. Nicolae Ciuca will also brief the allied Defense Ministers about the inauguration on Monday May 31, in Bucharest, of the Euro-Atlantic Resilience Center, an important contribution of Romania to reinforcing NATO and EU's resilience, as well as that of the partner states," the release concludes, reports agerpres.
