While attending the events dedicated to the Day of the Romanian Navy in Constanța on Mondya, President Klaus Iohannis said at present Romania benefits of the most solid security guarantees in its history and has become a symbol of the unity, solidarity and cohesion that characterize NATO.
Amid the war started by Russia in Ukraine, the Romanian president said that our country will continue to fulfill its role as a pillar of regional stability and will increase the budget allocation for Defense from 2% of GDP to 2.5%, starting in 2023.
“That is why, starting in 2023, we will make an extra effort to increase the budget allocation for Defense from the current 2% of GDP to 2.5%. We will use these funds to accelerate the endowment and modernization of the Romanian Army, including the Naval Forces, and to increase the level of training of our military, so that we have a force structure interoperable with the allies and more effective, capable of ensuring the defense national and to contribute to the collective defense, together with our NATO allies.”
The head of state underlined that, together with NATO allies and partners, Romania will strengthen the Alliance’s deterrence and defense position in the Black Sea region in the long term, given that Russia was defined at the Madrid Summit as the main threat to Euro-Atlantic security.
President Iohannis said that the Black Sea is today considered an area of strategic interest for the Euro-Atlantic security and that this is shown not only by the visibility of the region, but also by the presence of over 5,000 allied military in Romania.
“Through the joint activities carried out by the Romanian and allied military here, at the Black Sea, under the command of NATO, we put into practice our firm commitment to defend each other and to jointly defend the democratic values that unite us. I take this opportunity to emphasize once again Romania’s appreciation for the presence in our country of the military from the United States of America, France, Poland, Portugal, Belgium, Italy, Great Britain, Germany and the Netherlands,” he stated.
Iohannis pointed out that “being marine is more than a job, is a lifestyle that requires many sacrifices, but also satisfaction and achievement”.