Iohannis, at NATO Summit: Attention we want to grant Black Sea, important for us

President Klaus Iohannis stated on Wednesday in Brussels that the attention granted to the Black Sea area is very important for Romania, specifying that our country might gain an enhanced NATO presence in this region. 

He underscored that for Romania the main objective is to consolidate NATO's defensive posture. 

"For us it means very concrete things. We provided a very important command centre to improve the coordination of NATO's activity in our area (...) and for us, the attention we want to grant the Black Sea area is obviously very important. (...) We believe we will gain not only an increased attention for the Black Sea, but also an enhanced NATO presence in the Black Sea region, and the multinational brigade will be much more important, because it will become a brigade with a permanent presence, a brigade that will consequently constitute an important pole for the security in our area, in the entire region," Iohannis told the NATO Summit in Brussels. 

The head of state reiterated the need to equitably share tasks within NATO. 

"It is necessary. We cannot accept that some contribute and others reap the benefits and I can tell you that Romania ever since a few years ago when we took over the mandate has had the position I have reaffirmed each time. Romania hasn't been in a long time a mere security receiver, Romania has understood that in NATO one benefits from NATO protection, but we want to be a supplier of security for the entire region. Any security supplier certainly means having the armed forces in good shape, very well trained and very well endowed," Iohannis said. 

He reminded that ever since last year Romania started to allocate 2 percent of the GDP to the Army. 

"We take these things very seriously, the endowment and the provision of security, that is why we are present with so many people in Afghanistan, we are present in Irak, we are present in Kosovo and so on and so forth. We understand first off our role as security providers too," Iohannis added. 

The NATO Summit is taking place Wednesday through Thursday in Brussels. 

On Wednesday, the head of state will be visiting alongside the other heads of state and government the photography exhibition and objects about the history of the Alliance, will participate in the opening ceremony of the Summit, the "welcome" ceremony organised by Belgium. 

On Thursday, the meeting of the North Atlantic Council at the level of heads of state and government will take place, with Georgia and Ukraine, and the meeting of the North Atlantic Council at the level of heads of state and government with Resolute Support operational partners and potential operational partners. 

According to the agenda, at the end of the Summit President Iohannis will hold a pres conference.