Lieutenant General Jan Broeks, Director General of the NATO International Military Staff visited Romania from the 9th-11th of June 2017.
During his visit, Lieutenant General Broeks addressed the Black Sea and Balkans Security Forum and held staff talks with Romanian officials according to a NATO press release.
At the Black Sea and Balkans Security Forum, Lieutenant General Broeks participated in a panel on the ‘Security challenges in the Black Sea area and the Balkans’.
NATO confirmed other participants in the panel included: Mr. Dan Dungaciu, member of the Scientific Council of the New Strategy Center (Chair); General Nicolae Ciucă, Chief of the Romanian General Staff; Mr. Mustafa Aydin, rector of Kadir Has University Istanbul and president of the International Relations Council of Turkey; Mr. Przemysław Żurawski vel Grajewski, advisor for defence issues to the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Mr. Robert Barić, Lecturer at the Croatian Defense Academy.
During his address, Lieutenant General Broeks highlighted “the importance of the Black Sea as a key strategic intersection linking NATO’s Eastern and Southern flanks and the Balkans’ role as a gateway to Europe from the Southern Caucuses, the Eastern Mediterranean and the broader Middle East”.
Lieutenant General Broeks also stressed that “the Region has become the central focus of Russia’s larger strategic ambitions and revisionist agenda, making it a potential flashpoint for future conflict on NATO’s border”.
While in Bucharest, the Director General met with Romanian military officials to discuss the security environment in the Black Sea region and the Romanian Armed Forces transformation process. Lieutenant General Broeks took the opportunity to thank Romania for hosting and activating the Multinational Division South-East Headquarters as well as its role in strengthening NATO’s forward presence with a Romanian-led multinational framework brigade on land.
They also discussed the deployment of the British Typhoon fighter aircrafts who will be working alongside the Romanian Air Force to help keep the skies over Romania safe, as part of NATO’s Air Policing mission.
Finally, Lieutenant General Broeks praised Romania for its valuable contributions to NATO’s Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan and to the KFOR peacekeeping mission in Kosovo.
