by Ro Insider
Romania is making strong contributions to the Alliance and is “helping keep NATO’s nearly one billion citizens safe,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at the plenary session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Bucharest.
The capital has been hosting the NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s 63rd annual session since October 6.
Stoltenberg outlined the country’s “very strong contributions to the Alliance and to our collective defense, to our shared security.” He mentioned Romania’s contribution to the NATO operations in Afghanistan and in Kosovo, the role of host of the ballistic missile defense site in Deveselu, and the country’s commitment to spending 2% of GDP on defense each year.
The NATO Secretary General also spoke of the need to invest in defense and said that a growth in the allies’ defense spending was registered in 2015.
“Crucially, going forward, Allies need to invest in defense. At the Wales Summit, as you know in 2014, all Allies made a pledge. To stop the cuts in defense budgets. And gradually move towards spending 2% of GDP on defense within a decade. The good news is that we have seen real progress. After years of decline, in 2015 we saw a real increase in defense spending across European Allies and Canada. This continued in 2016. And this year 2017, we estimate an even greater annual increase – of 4.3% in real terms. That is three consecutive years of accelerating defense spending. The trend is up and, with your help, we will keep it up. Last year, five Allies met the 2% target. Romania has announced it will join them this year. With Latvia and Lithuania doing the same next year,” Stoltenberg said.
https://www.romania-insider.com/stoltenberg-romania-keep-natos-citizens-safe/
