Romania is ready to provide specialist assistance and support for the army of the Republic of Moldova in a number of areas, said its defence minister Angel Tîlvăr on Monday during an official visit to the Moldovan capital Chişinău. He attended the official handover of his ministry’s latest donations to the Moldovan army consisting in ballistic protection equipment, such as Kevlar helmets and bulletproof vests, as well as all-terrain vehicles. This donation is concrete proof of Bucharest’s determination to contribute to ensuring the resources needed to equip the military of the army of the neighbouring state, said minister Tîlvăr. He said the donation forms part of Romania’s continued efforts to help the Republic of Moldova endow its army with modern equipment.
The Romanian official travelled to Chişinău following an invitation from his Moldovan counterpart Anatolie Nosatîi. The two held talks on the bilateral cooperation in the area of defence and in a wider regional context, as well as in the context of NATO and the European Union. The developing security situation following Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine was also tackled, with emphasis on the situation caused by the Russian strikes against Ukrainian ports on the river Danube, very close to the borders with Romania and the Republic of Moldova.
Romania’s full support for Moldova moving closer to the European Union was also reiterated, as well as the importance of Moldova’s taking part in projects carried out under the South Eastern Europe Defence Ministerial, a regional initiative currently chaired by Romania from July this year until July 2025. On this latter subject, ministers Tîlvăr and Nosatîi evaluated the concrete steps Moldova needs to make in order to prepare its accession to this regional body for political and military consultation. „You can count on our full support, so that the goal of joining the South Eastern Europe Defence Ministerial may be achieved during Romania’s term as chair of this body. Moldova’s accession as a full-fledged member of this initiative would strengthen its position on a regional and international level and provide new oportunities for military cooperation with the countries in the region”, said Angel Tîlvăr.
Noting the positive results of the recent meeting of the Romanian-Moldovan joint military commission held at under-secretary level in Târgu Mureş, in central Romania in June, Tîlvăr concluded: „The bilateral cooperation in the area of defence has reached a very good level, and this can only please us and encourage us to continue at this accelerated pace.” (Roxana Vasile, Radio Romania International)
