Director of the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) Eduard Hellvig had a round of official meetings at member agencies of the US Intelligence Community, SRI announced in a release posted on its website on Friday.
At the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) the SRI head discussed with the agency's leadership and with senior officials in the main activity areas. In the context of the new security challenges and of the regional situation, the talks focused on two partner agencies' cooperation on the prevention and combat of security risks and threats.
"Cooperation is running in all areas of current interest for the security of the two states, with emphasis on preventing and countering cyberattacks, terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and hybrid threats. At the meeting, the American officials extended thanks to SRI and to Romania's entire intelligence community for their engagement in the combat of these threats," the release states.
At the headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), representatives of the federal law enforcement agency reiterated the importance of continuing the strategic partnership between the Romanian and the US intelligence service.
"The FBI officials voiced appreciation for the FBI - SRI co-work on the constant exchange of intelligence, the fight against terrorism and transnational organized crime. The FBI representatives emphasized the fact that the partnership with the SRI already has already grown an important tradition that must continue, mainly in the increasingly complex cybercrime cases," the release states.
According to the document, the SRI head also had bilateral meetings with representatives of the management of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the US cabinet agency with a vast area of public security responsibilities on national soil.
"During the meetings, the sides underscored that in the near future SRI and DHS need to jointly capitalize on their particular experiences, particularly in the sensitive area of security threats in the two states. At this point, the SRI Director mentioned the significant progress made by Romania and its bodies in recent years and advocated once more the continuation at a fast pace of visa waiver approaches for Romanian citizens," the release states.
According to the SRI, Eduard Hellvig's US tour continued with an official visit to the Department of State, where talks with US officials envisaged the current global context, the strategic partnership between Romania and the US, threats and risks to global security.
The visit of the SRI Director to the US ended with a meeting with the members of the US Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI).
"During talks, the officials shared national institutional experiences in the relationship between services and society, the paramount importance of parliaments in keeping intelligence agencies within the boundaries of democracy and in the exclusive service of citizens, but also in ensuring the legislative and the budgetary resources they need in order to fulfill their missions in the current security context," the release also said.
According to SRI, Eduard Hellvig's official visit to the United States is "the expression of the close relationship between the Romanian Intelligence Service and the US security agencies, with the officials expressing their conviction that it will contribute to strengthening the Romanian - US cooperation under the Strategic Partnership."
AGERPRES .
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