Minister of Defense meets members of U.S Congress, talk about Black Sea region security, investment

The Minister of National Defense, Nicolae Ciuca, and the Chief of the Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Daniel Petrescu, met on Sunday, at the headquarters of the Ministry of National Defense, with a delegation of the U.S. Congress, the discussions aimed, among other things, at security in the Black Sea region and major investment projects regarding the consolidation of the military infrastructure in Romania, Agerpres informs.

According to a press release sent by the Ministry of National Defence (MApN), the U.S. delegation was led by Senator Richard Shelby, chairman of the Committee on Budget Allocations in the U.S. Senate.

"The discussions addressed current issues in the field of security and defense and concrete issues related to cooperation with the U.S., both from a bilateral perspective and in an allied context. There were raised both topics of strategic dialogue in the field of defence - with emphasis on risks and threats to security in the Black Sea region, as well as the directions of action on strengthening practical cooperation at bilateral level. (...) The Minister of National Defense reaffirmed that the U.S. military presence on Romanian territory represents a real commitment of the U.S. to ensuring security and stability, reiterating the importance of strengthening it. He also evoked the major investment projects regarding the consolidation of the military infrastructure in Romania," the quoted source said.

Also, the two delegations scored the need for cooperation to increase the level of training of the military, by conducting bilateral and allied exercises.

"The consolidation of the Strategic Partnership remains a major objective at the level of defense, having an essential role in the context of the current challenges to security," Minister Ciuca stressed, according to the release.