Romania’s Defence Minister Ionut Mosteanu, had a bilateral meeting on Wednesday with his French counterpart, Sebastien Lecornu, on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in The Hague, on strengthening the NATO multinational battle group in Cincu under French command.

According to the Romanian Defence Ministry (MApN), in the context of an excellent cooperation between Romania and France, the defence ministers addressed priority issues on the bilateral agenda, with a focus on strengthening the NATO multinational battle group in Cincu under French command that also includes soldiers from other NATO member states such as Belgium, Luxembourg and Spain.

„Romania, in the light of the support of the host nation, considers it important to practice the interoperability of allied soldiers within the Romanian Battle Group, and the certification of the final operational capability, at brigade level,” says MApN.

The two ministers also highlighted the developments in the security situation in the Black Sea and stressed the need to continue supporting vulnerable partners in the region, Ukraine and Moldova.

The importance of maintaining France’s increased interest in the Black Sea region was also underlined in view of the fact that at the end of 2024 the French government approved the Black Sea Strategy.

In the spirit of strengthening bilateral defence cooperation, the Mosteanu invited his French counterpart to pay a visit to Romania for the „Dacian Fall” multinational exercise, planned for this autumn.

„The invitation reflects the commitment of the Romanian side to advancing the strategic dialogue and implementing the roadmap on Romanian-French military collaboration, in the context of joint commitments within NATO and security developments in the region.” according to MApN.

Mosteanu handed Lecornu the Romanian Army’s Badge of Honour.

The two officials agreed to continue consultations in order to implement the Hague decisions.

AGERPRES