The Ministry of Defence, Mr. Teodor Meleşcanu, stated last Monday that Romania has great expectations from the NATO Summit in Bucharest, especially related to enlargement and partnerships.
“I am confident that the Bucharest summit will be an important step in the evolution of the Alliance. As hosting country, Romania has great expectations related to the adoption of certain decisions, especially regarding the enlargement of the Alliance and the development of partnerships with countries that are not NATO members, as well as other topics on the agenda dealing with the challenges that NATO countries must face", stated Mr. Meleşcanu.
According to the minister, the Romanian army is one of the forces of the Romanian society showing "that Romania accomplishes the commitments taken, as a proof of solidarity within the Alliance".
Minister Meleşcanu made these statements last Monday, during the vernissage of the exhibition "Securing our Future", a preliminary event of the 2008 NATO Summit in Bucharest. Carried out by the Public Diplomacy Division within the NATO International Secretariat, the exhibition will be open to the public in the entrance hall of the National History Museum from March 17th until March 29th, with a free entrance.
Mr. Meleşcanu stated that the exhibition launched on Monday "is probably the most important public diplomacy and dialogue exercise between NATO and the Romanian society".
According to Mr. Meleşcanu, it is quite important to emphasise that throughout its existence, the Alliance has been continuously changing in order to face every challenge.
He also added that it is not a mere coincidence that the exhibition in hosted by the History Museum since NATO is now part of Romania’s history and Bucharest wishes to become part of the Alliance’s history after the summit.
The exhibition aims at emphasising NATO’s role in the field of security taken into consideration the new challenges at a global level. With a mix of graphic representations, up to date touch-button information, video and audio projections, the exhibition is the first multilateral exclusively multimedia presentation of the North-Atlantic Alliance, of the member and partner countries. Information delivered by the exhibition will be available in the official NATO languages (English and French), and partially in Romanian.
After delivering their press statements, Mr. Teodor Meleşcanu and NATO Deputy Secretary General, Claudio Bisognero, visited the exhibition engaging in a friendly discussion.
Minister Meleşcanu also answered to some questions asked by the journalists underlining that Romania is determined to maintain the number of soldiers in Kosovo.
When asked about the purchase of military aircrafts compliant with NATO standards, Mr. Meleşcanu stated that the choice is based on their quality, price and economic conditions. As for the date when a decision could be taken in this matter, minister Meleşcanu mentioned mid 2008.
(Source:Mediafax)
