Moldovan-American Meeting at the Ministry of Defense

CHISINAU, October 15, 2015 — Minister of Defense, Anatol Salaru, met with the US Congressmen Duncan D. Hunter and Mark Sanford.

The meeting was also attended by Ambassador of the USA to Republic of Moldova, His Excellency James D. Pettit, Deputy Chief of Mission, Julie Stufft, the US defense attaché to Republic of Moldova, LTC Joseph Bilbo, and Mr. Mike Legg.

The consolidation of bilateral Moldovan-American military relations, regional and national security, the National Army reformation, as well as the war in Syria and the international security were the issues discussed during the meeting.

Minister of Defense, Anatol Salaru, thanked the Congressmen for their visit and reiterated that the USA is one the most important strategic partners of the Republic of Moldova. The Minister mentioned that in the current geopolitical context and regional security, the National Army needs to be reformed and reorganized in order to be interoperable with the armies of NATO member-states.

Anatol Salaru expressed his gratitude for the assistance offered by the USA to Moldova within the Agreement between the two countries and through the Defense Capacity Building package that provides NATO experts’ support for the military reformation. Minister Salaru also pointed out the importance and benefits of US scholarships provided to Moldovan officers in the US military educational institutions. .

Congressman Duncan D. Hunter stated that Moldova has to make every effort in order to implement the established reforms and that the National Army must be an example for the other state institutions. The members of the delegation stressed the strategic role of the army in the society, mentioning that, lately, the citizens’ trust in the National Army has been increasing.

The American delegation reiterated that the USA will support the European course of the Republic of Moldova and will provide the needed assistance in different sectors.

At the end of the meeting, the officials agreed on continuing the discussions in order to successfully achieve all the goals on the joint agenda.