Fifor: Kogălniceanu Base expansion, Munich Security Council summary

Romanian National Defense Minister Mihai Fifor discussed with US Defense Secretary James Mattis during the Munich Security Conference about the future expansion of the Mihail Kogălniceanu military base (near the Black Sea port of Constanța).

"It is a commitment Romania has made to its American partner, namely to support the development of the Mihail Kogălniceanu base. We are at the stage of analyzing a new land surface to expand the base". This year, the Ministry of National Defense will start the procurement program for the defense of the Black Sea coastal zone with artillery batteries to be produced in Romania. The four multifunctional corvettes for the Romanian Naval Forces will include in the acquisition project an offset program that will modernize frigates King Ferdinand and Queen Maria, Defense Minister said, answering a question from Radio România Actualităţi.

While attending the Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Romanian Defense Minister Mihai Fifor and US Defense Secretary James Mattis also discussed about the operationalization of the NATO Multinational Brigade in Craiova. Germany has announced that it will support the Allied Brigade in Craiova, and Canada will support Romania to develop an operational psychology capacity at the highest standards, according to the Minister of National Defense.

Mihai Fifor: "Romania has advocated that the agenda of the next NATO summit includes a separate chapter for the Black Sea security. In all the meetings that I have had, I have emphasized that at the moment, in our opinion, Romania is the most important actor in the Black Sea, the most important security provider, considering that the situation in the Black Sea area is not improving, on the contrary, we would say (…) in support of the idea that the Russian Federation continues the excessive militarization of the Crimean Peninsula.

There were very consistent bilateral meetings, Fifor said after the Conference. I met US Secretary of Defense James Mattis. We talked about allocation of 2% of GDP for the Defense, about the Romanian military presence in theaters of operations and, of course, about the strengthening of Romania's capabilities. These are three essential conditions for each Allied country, and Romania meets them all. I would also say that at present Romania is one of the six NATO countries that allocate 2% of GDP to the Defense and all these things are highly appreciated by our partners, considering that Romania is, if you will, the most important ally in this area of the Black Sea.

I have also discussed about the preparation of the B-9 (“Bucharest format” - Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary) meeting of Defense Ministers, scheduled to take place in Bucharest on 12-14 March, a meeting that also follows this course of preparations for the next NATO summit in July.

I also had a bilateral meeting with the Canadian Defense Minister, when we resumed the most important topic of discussion, namely that of the Canadian support for Romania to develop an operational psychology capacity at the highest standards. We also announced this at the bilateral meeting with the Canadian counterpart. It has been confirmed that we will be supported by Canada in this project. I have presented the way we are currently organized and I believe we and our Canadian partners have lots of common points”.

In Munich, Minister Fifor presented Romania’s Defense priorities. He ensured the US partner that Romania continues its assumed commitments as a member of the Alliance as well as within the Strategic Partnership of the two countries.

During the bilateral meeting with representatives of the Atlantic Council, General (Ret.) James Jones and Alexander Vershbow, Minister Mihai Fifor highlighted the importance of the security in the Black Sea region for the agenda of the next NATO Summit in July 2018 in Brussels. It was also discussed the significance of the reunion in the form of the Three Seas Initiative, which will be hosted this year by Romania in Bucharest. On this occasion, Minister Fifor reiterated the Romanian assessment of the security developments in the extended Black Sea region, as well as the efforts to strengthen the deterrence and defense posture as a state on the eastern flank of the Alliance, in accordance with the political decisions at the NATO level.

During the meeting with the President of American Company Lockheed Martin, Marillyn Hewson, the talks focused on military cooperation, as the Defense Ministry plans to develop the major procurement program, HIMARS. On this occasion the Romanian official reiterated the importance of developing the cooperation with Romanian companies of the Defense industry.

During the meeting with Mike Turner, member of the US Congress, Minister Mihai Fifor reiterated that Romania will continue to stand by its commitments to the allies and to the Strategic Partnership with the USA. On this occasion he reiterated the importance of the transatlantic relation and the need to cooperate fully with the American partner to strengthen European security, especially in the Black Sea region.

The meeting with Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the former NATO Secretary General and founder of Rasmussen Global, revolved around topics related to the main risks and threats to global security, with focus on Brexit and the situation in the Ukrainian and the Black Sea region.

During the bilateral meeting with the Dutch Defense Minister, Ank Bijleveld, they discussed European security, bilateral defense cooperation but also at European and allied level.

Security Conference in Munich (held on February 16th and 17th) has been an event in which the guidelines of the current security agenda were discussed and analyzed. Discussions focused on the need for a comprehensive approach to manage the risks and the threats to the global security, also by strengthening the role of the international organizations in managing the risks and the threats to security.

Source:RRA, MApN. Translated by Miruna Matei