Romania and regional security
The Defense Minister, Angel Tîlvăr, reiterated, in Kosovo and Bosnia, Romania's firm commitment to actively contributing to efforts to maintain peace and stability in the region.
Leyla Cheamil, 10.10.2024, 13:50
The consolidation of cooperation in the field of regional security, with an emphasis on the EUFOR Althea mission, in which Romania assumed a significant role, was included in the agenda of talks occasioned by the bilateral meeting of the Romanian Defense Minister, Angel Tîlvăr, on Wednesday, in Sarajevo, with his counterpart from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zukan Helez. Against the backdrop of increasingly complex security challenges in the Western Balkans region, Minister Tîlvăr reiterated Bucharest’s firm commitment to actively contributing to efforts to maintain peace and stability in the region. “Romania has always been a firm supporter of security in the Western Balkans and the European path of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the EUFOR Althea mission, to which we are currently contributing with the most important contingent, represents a central pillar in the international efforts on this level. We are proud of our constant contribution, and we are ready to take over the command of EUFOR in 2025, a commitment that reflects our determination in this regard”, said Angel Tîlvăr.
The bilateral defense cooperation agreement, signed in June 2024, was another important topic on the agenda of the two ministers’ discussions. The document establishes the framework for the deepening of military collaboration between the two states, including aspects of joint training, exchange of experience and logistical support. At the same time, Angel Tîlvăr conveyed a message of solidarity to the people affected by the recent floods in Bosnia and Herzegovina and informed that the aid recently sent by the Romanian Government to this country, as humanitarian support, will be supplemented. Previously, Minister Angel Tîlvăr was in Kosovo, where he met with the command team of the NATO peacekeeping operation KFOR, to which Romania has an important contribution, and with the Romanian soldiers on mission in this theater of operations. The North Atlantic Alliance has been conducting the multinational peacekeeping operation KFOR (Kosovo Force) since 1999, when it was decided to create an international security presence in Kosovo. “As a member of NATO and the European Union, Romania is ready to comply with its obligations and support allied efforts to maintain security and promote peace in the Western Balkans region”, the Romanian minister pointed out.
He also met with the Romanian military working in the Camp Film City and Camp Novo Selo military bases in Pristina. The minister highlighted the excellent cooperation between the Romanian forces and those deployed by the allies in the KFOR Operation. “The lesson learned by Romania in the last three decades in which it has contributed to peace enforcement and peacekeeping missions and operations is that security is obtained by countering challenges where they exist, in order not to allow instability to reach home,” Minister Angel Tîlvăr concluded. (LS)
