Romania is considered a serious, strong and courageous country at the Euro-Atlantic level, said Tuesday Her Majesty Margareta, the Custodian of the Romanian Crown, during the ceremony organized at the Ministry of National Defence (MApN), on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the hoisting of our country’s flag at the NATO headquarters.
„We are proud of what we have been able to achieve for our country, a joint effort of the Royal Family and the Romanian Government and Army and thank God we are in NATO. We came back from Brussels, where we visited the NATO headquarters and I was so proud that Romania is considered a serious, strong, brave country and that we were not afraid to change for the better in these years,” said the Custodian of the Romanian Crown.
Her Majesty Margareta, the Custodian of the Romanian Crown and Prince Radu attended a ceremony at the Ministry of National Defence on Tuesday, as these days marked the 20th anniversary of Romania’s accession to the North Atlantic Alliance. On 29 March 2004, Romania officially joined NATO by submitting the instruments of ratification with the US State Department, which serves as the depositary of the North Atlantic Treaty. The submission of the instruments of ratification was followed, on 2 April 2004, by the ceremony of the official hoisting of our country’s flag at the NATO headquarters.
Minister of Defence Angel Tilvar highlighted, on this occasion, the role of the Romanian Crown in the Euro-Atlantic integration of our country.
„We must remember, not only in the context of the anniversary, the visits made in 1997, 2000 and 2002 by King Michael and Queen Anne, together with Your Majesty and Your Royal Highness, to Europe and the United States to encourage monarchs, heads of state and government to support Romania’s Euro-Atlantic path”, said the Defence minister. „And today, in a constantly changing security climate generated by the Russian Federation’s aggressive war against Ukraine, Your Majesty and Your Royal Highness continue to stress the need to secure the Eastern Flank and the Black Sea region,” the Defence Minister told the Custodian of the Romanian Crown and Prince Radu, recalling the Royal Family’s support for the European path of the Republic of Moldova.
Angel Tilvar said that Romania is a fully committed ally in the defence of NATO values.
„All this progress could not have been achieved without the Romanian Army and its dedicated people. NATO membership is one of the fundamental pillars of Romania’s security, along with the European Union membership and the Strategic Partnership with the United States,” said the Defence minister.
Members of the Invictus Romania team also attended the ceremony at the MApN.
„The Invictus Romania project will never come to an end”, said the minister of Defence.
Prince Radu spoke about the current challenges.
„Unfortunately, none of the five royal generations was spared the war of their time and the fact that today we still need to speak to Romanian society and the world about our country’s aspirations for freedom, sovereignty and stability only shows that the effort never ends,” Prince Radu stressed.
He said that Invictus Romania is a „very beautiful symbol of the link between the Crown, society and political authority, setting an example of selflessness, courage and patriotism that has no equal in our society”.
„Today, Invictus Romania is a real education project, which teaches us never to give up, no matter how difficult it may be (…) The people next to us who encourage and support us have an extremely important role,” said Ionel Bida, sergeant major in reserve, member of the Invictus team.
Minister Angel Tilvar awarded the Romania – NATO 20 Years anniversary medal to the Custodian of the Romanian Crown, Her Majesty Margareta, and Prince Radu for their continuous support of the Romanian Army.
The Custodian of the Romanian Crown also received, from Invictus Romania, Sageata de Zece (The Winning Arrow) of the archery team from 2023 Invictus Games, for „unconditional support”.
AGERPRES
