Stoltenberg: "To keep our people safe, we must also invest in defense"

North Atlantic Alliance is currently considering how it can respond to US President Donald Trump's call for more involvement in the Middle East, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced. He discussed this topic on Thursday, at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, with Romanian Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, and thanked Romania for contributing to the Alliance training mission in Iraq.

RRA Special Envoy Petruţa Obrejan. Excerpts from the joint press conference: "Romania plays a key role in the North Atlantic Alliance and has an essential contribution in terms of ensuring security in the Black Sea, and not only, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. He welcomed the contribution of the Romanian Army soldiers and also expressed the need for investments in defense. “To keep our people safe in a more dangerous world, we also need to invest in defense. So I welcome Romania’s plans to spend 2 percent on defense this year. And I welcome the fact that you have already reached 2 per cent of GDP to defense. And also your plans to modernize your armed forces over the next decade. I count on Romania, as on all Allies, to keep up the momentum” .

Prime Minister Ludovic Orban assured Jens Stoltenberg of Romania's support for achieving the goals of the North Atlantic Alliance. "We will continue to allocate 2% of GDP for defense, in line with the Alliance's objectives set at the 2014 summit, and at the same time Romania will continue to contribute to NATO mission and initiatives for the advanced presence on its East Flank and for NATO preparation for Afghanistan, Kosovo and Iraq".

Source:RRA.Translated by Miruna Matei