PM Orban: We are marking NATO Day by showing the Euro-Atlantic unity and solidarity

We are marking the NATO Day in Romania this year by showing the Euro-Atlantic unity and solidarity, in the context of an unseen health crisis in our contemporary world, reads a message sent by Prime Minister Ludovic Orban on Sunday.

"For several weeks, the novel coronavirus has been taking thousands of lives around the world daily, and the affected countries are making dramatic efforts to stop the pandemic. The humankind has become engaged in an almost uneven fight, with an invisible and unpredictable enemy, which requires us to act fast, in a coordinated and effective manner, to save lives and limit the economic and social effects of the pandemic. The civilian efforts of the affected countries have been joined by the actions of the North Atlantic Alliance to supply essential sanitary and economic materials and equipment, and Romania was among the beneficiaries of this aid," read the message.

The Prime Minister hailed the support provided by NATO and its willingness to further assist member states and partner states with logistics, expertise and medical staff, as he felt encouraged by the appreciation expressed by the NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg for the measures Romania has been implemented so far in the fight against the novel coronavirus.

"Today, after 16 years of belonging to the North Atlantic Alliance, Romania has become a pillar of stability in the region, and being a NATO member represents for us the strongest guarantee in terms of security. The Alliance reached 30 member states last month, which are waiting for other countries to join, as more confirmation of NATO's credibility. The current challenge at Alliance level is to not allow the health crisis caused by coronavirus to turn into a security risk in addition to the existing ones and to fight disinformation related to the pandemic. We will be with our Euro-Atlantic allies in this fight for life and security," the message said.

The NATO Day in Romania has been marked, since the year 2005, on the first Sunday of April, under the Law No. 390/2004, according to www.mae.ro.

In establishing this day, the authorities took into account the official date of Romania's accession to the North Atlantic Alliance (March 29, 2004) and the date when the Romanian flag was shown for the first time at the NATO headquarters in Brussels (April 2, 2004).