The port of Constanta on Saturday hosted the opening ceremony of the "Poseidon 2023" exercise, in which 750 soldiers from nine countries are participating, Agerpres reports.
Viceamiral Vasile Urseanu Fleet Commander Cornel-Eugen Cojocaru told the press at the end of the ceremony that the proposed objectives are in line with existing threats in the Black Sea.
"In order to keep the waterways free from the danger of mines we are conducting this exercise with real capabilities so that whenever we discover a mine we are able to destroy it. We have inter-agency sequences that we have planned together with all the institutions of Constanta to be able to face any challenges that may arise," said Cojocaru.
He voiced confidence that the over 750 troops from nine countries involved in the exercise will achieve their stated objectives.
"Another objective we have is the certification of the Regina Maria frigate to make it available to NATO for 2024. We are also focusing on NATO Response Force officers to assess and certify them. Together with the training, simulation, evaluation and war games centre, we will evaluate all these Romanian capabilities that we have during the exercise," concluded Cojocaru.
The multinational exercise brings together, July 14 - 21, soldiers from the Romanian Navy, other departments of the national defence system, as well as from Bulgaria, Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, the UK, the US (NAVEUR, Alabama National Guard) and Turkey.
Comentează