BUCHAREST, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu promised on Friday that his country would continue to be a responsible and active ally of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Melescanu made the remark when meeting with NATO Parliamentary Assembly President Paolo Alli, who is in Bucharest to preside the 63rd Annual Session of the Assembly.
The two officials underlined the importance of maintaining the Alliance's capacity to deal with all threats to the member states and highlighted the importance of NATO-EU cooperation in as many areas of common interest as possible for the two organizations, which is all the more necessary in the context of strengthening the EU's role in the field of security and defense.
According to a press release issued by the Foreign Ministry, Melescanu voiced appreciation for the work of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and emphasized the unique and extremely important role that this format plays in connecting allied objectives and policies to the needs and expectations of citizens in the member states.
"Romania will continue to be a responsible and active ally in promoting a strengthened NATO profile and will remain a trustworthy dialogue partner for its allies," stressed the head of the Romanian diplomacy.
Alli appreciated Romania's important contributions to the Alliance, materialized, among other things, in its significant participation in allied missions, hosting the Aegis Ashore rocket defence system and in meeting the Alliance's objective to allocate 2 percent of GDP to defense.
NATO Parliamentary Assembly gather in Bucharest, Friday through Monday. It is the third time for Romania to host the Assembly. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is going to be present at the plenary session on Monday.
According to official Agerpres news agency, the support for NATO's actions in Afghanistan, the closer NATO-EU cooperation, the stability and security in the Black Sea area, the risks of the instability in Eastern Asia, the humanitarian crisis in Syria and Iraq are among the topics to be approached.
