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The Secretary of State for Global Affairs, Traian Hristea, had a meeting with General Philippe Lavigne, the commander of the Supreme Allied Command for Transformation (SACT) of NATO, on Wednesday, who is visiting Romania, at the invitation of the Chief of the Defense Staff, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE), sent to AGERPRES.
During the discussions, the Romanian official highlighted the worrying developments in the security environment in NATO's Eastern Neighborhood and in the Black Sea region, underlining the importance of continuing, in a sustained manner, the process of full implementation of the measures decided during the Madrid Summit, in June, for strengthening the allied deterrence and defense posture. He mentioned, in the context, the significance of the robust allied presence in 2022, through the takeover by France, as coordinator of the Romanian Battle Group, and the US decision to increase the military presence in our country, appreciating that this ensures the effective strengthening of the advanced defence in the Black Sea region, Agerpres informs.
Hristea emphasized that, in parallel, NATO must continue to provide the necessary support and assistance to Ukraine, to increase the resilience of this state in the face of the security threats it faces. Considering the direct coordination responsibilities of SACT in the field of research and innovation, the Secretary of State in the Romanian MAE emphasized the support given by our country in maintaining the efforts to keeping the technological advance and mentioned Romania's contribution with two test centers for the NATO Accelerator in the field of innovation (DIANA).
In turn, General Philippe Lavigne appreciated Romania's active role within NATO, both in the framework of conceptual discussions and through concrete contributions in support of Euro-Atlantic security, MAE said. General Lavigne also mentioned the importance of continuing to ensure NATO's technological advance, pointing out that the Madrid Summit marked important steps in this area by launching the Innovation Fund and approving the Defense Accelerator Charter (DIANA).
