Romania’s Defence Minister Angel Tilvar on Wednesday welcomed Norwegian ambassador to Romania Hilde Svartdal Lunde to discuss an ongoing programme for the acquisition of F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft.

This programme „ensures an increase in Romania’s security by strengthening the defence capabilities of the national airspace and NATO,” according to the Defence Ministry (MApN).

The two officials discussed the latest developments in the European security situation and the increase in hybrid actions on the entire eastern flank of NATO, reiterating the need for a coherent and uniform approach in order to increase resilience and counter these types of threats.

Tilvar highlighted the challenges and risks in the Black Sea region, pointing to the importance of ensuring stability in the area and, and stressing the need to continue supporting both Ukraine and Moldova.

Also discussed were bilateral defence cooperation, especially on the military-technical coordinates, with Tilvar saying that it is essential to develop the relations between the defence industries of the two nations, including by strengthening collaboration under projects financed by the European Union.

Tilvar also appreciated the fact that Norway was the first third country to sign an Administrative Agreement with the European Defence Agency in 2006, remaining the country most involved in its activities and projects.

At the same time, the importance of concluding a security and defence partnership between the EU and Norway was also underlined, which is an important contribution to the security of European and Norwegian citizens.

AGERPRES