The Supreme Allied Commander for Transformation, General Philippe Lavigne, is visiting Romania, until Wednesday, at the invitation of the Chief of the Defense Staff (SMAp), General Daniel Petrescu, the Ministry of National Defence (MApN) informs, according to Agerpres.

On Monday, the high representative of NATO had a meeting with the state secretary for defense policy, planning and international relations, Simona Cojocaru, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense. The two officials addressed the main topics on the allied agenda that will be the subject of the upcoming meeting of the Defense Ministers from the NATO countries. General Lavigne presented the main concerns of the Allied Command Transformation (ACT), emphasizing the importance of the steps to implement the decisions adopted at the Madrid Summit.

At the meetings with the head of SMAp, the discussions focused on the analysis of the security situation, significantly affected by the war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, as well as on the strengthening of the deterrence and defense posture, especially through the defensive reconfiguration of the Eastern Flank.

According to General Philippe Lavigne, Europe is facing the biggest security challenge since the Second World War. He highlighted Romania’s commitment to NATO, adding that transatlantic unity is now more important than ever.

Our dialogue was an opportunity to share our perspectives on several topics. It helped me to better understand the Romanian approach to the regional security context, said the Supreme Allied Commander for Transformation.

An important objective of General Philippe Lavigne’s visit to Romania is to participate in the NATO seminar dedicated to the development of the concept of Layered Resilience (NATO Layered Resilience Seminar), which takes place at the National Military Circle, between October 10 and 12. During the reunion, he will deliver a presentation of the fourth edition of the „NATO Innovation Challenge” project, a competition open to companies from member states whose innovative solutions contribute to keeping the Alliance at the forefront of technological development.

General Daniel Petrescu presented the ways in which our country can contribute to the initiative coordinated by the Allied Command for Transformation „North-Atlantic Innovation Accelerator”, to apply innovative solutions for military capabilities.

General Lavigne will also have meetings with the command team of the Southeast Multinational Corps Command in Sibiu and with soldiers from the NATO Battle Group deployed in the National Joint Training Center in Cincu, Brasov.

Agerpres