Ministry of National Defence of Romania

03/29/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 03/29/2024 06:25

Romanian-Slovenian Dialogue in the field of defence

Minister of National Defence, Angel Tîlvăr, had a bilateral meeting with his counterpart, Marjan Šarec, on Thursday, March 28, on the occasion of his official visit to the Republic of Slovenia.

During the talks, the officials approached topics related to the political-military dialogue and cooperation in the field of defence, starting from our country's and Slovenia's NATO and EU membership.

"Romania would particularly appreciate Slovenia's troop contribution to our country. This would represent a clear expression of Allied solidarity. Of course, we want to strengthen our relationship at political-military level, and I am glad that this delivers concrete results. We support the NATO Mountain Warfare Center of Excellence in Poljce and thank for the interest shown in the Euro-Atlantic Resilience Center (E-ARC) from Bucharest ", the Romanian Minister of Defence stated.

The two officials had an exchange of views on the security situation in the Western Balkans and the Black Sea region, focusing on the impact of the war of aggression launched by the Russian Federation against Ukraine and the need for continued international support to Ukraine.

"We must remain united and continue to support Ukraine for respecting the international law and democratic values", Minister Tîlvăr declared.

At the same time, the two officials also discussed the regional and global security situation, acknowledging that we were going through a period of security challenges.

At bilateral level, both dignitaries emphasized the need to strengthen cooperation within the international formats they are part of, as an essential element in ensuring long-term stability and peace.

The Romanian minister thanked his counterpart for the support provided by Slovenia within the South-Eastern European Defence Ministers (SEDM-CC) Meeting, a regional initiative whose rotating chairmanship is held by Romania. In this context, he pointed out the importance of the accession of the Republic of Moldova, as a full-pledged member during the SEDM Meeting held in Ankara, in November 2023. Thus, SEDM's role in increasing resilience in the Western Balkans and the Republic of Moldova was recognized.

In the end, Ministers Tîlvăr and Šarec reiterated Romania's and Slovenia's firm commitment to strengthening regional and international security and stability and agreed to continue the dialogue and cooperation in order to face common security challenges.