National Defence Minister Vasile Dincu signed on Thursday, on the sidelines of the NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels, the letter of intent for Romania’s joining the German-led European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI), the National Defence Minister said in a release, according to Agerpres.

NATO Deputy General Secretary Mircea Geoana also participated in the signing ceremony.

ESSI is an air defence cooperation project that provides participating states support with the procurement, integration and sustainability of future defence component systems, achieving interoperability standard goals and increasing the involvement of national defence industries, thus reducing specific costs.

Romania’s signing the letter of intent alongside another 14 states – Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Great Britain, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Netherlands and Hungary – will facilitate the initiation of steps and procedures related to the initiative. Other NATO states can also join over the duration of the project, the Defence Ministry said.

Agerpres