Muniz: Romania has fought side by side with the US in some of toughest theaters of operations

Romania has fought side by side with the United States and other Allied forces in some of the world's toughest and deadliest theaters of operations, US Embassy in Bucharest chargé d'affaires ad-interim David Muniz affirmed on Monday in a message sent on the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Joint Declaration on The Strategic Partnership For The 21st Century Between The United States Of America And Romania and the Agreement between the two countries' Governments on the location of the Ballistic Missile Defense System. According to the US official, "the Romanian military bravely honored this commitment and paid an incredibly expensive price." "Through their actions, they brought peace to the affected areas and protected the vulnerable from the forces that would have treated them like prey," he added. David Muniz noted that the Joint Declaration and the Agreement "significantly" improved collective security and encouraged regional stability. "Ten years after its signing and five years after the Aegis Ashore System became operational in 2016, Romania remains a key link in NATO's missile defense chain," he said. "Romania's significant progress in modernizing and expanding its defense capabilities helps the entire NATO Alliance," and the Joint Declaration "formalized and strengthened the intense cultural, scientific and academic exchanges between our peoples," the US Chargé d'Affaires in Bucharest added. "In the name of friendship, cooperation, partnership and mutual obligation, we have accomplished much in the decade since the signing of the Joint Declaration and the Ballistic Missile Defense System Agreement. Of course, much remains to be done. And yet, it is reassuring to know that no matter the challenges our alliance and our friendship might face in the future, we will face them together. It is possible that the changes of fate will test the firmness of this friendship, but it has been proved that it remains unshakable," mentioned David Muniz. AGERPRES (RO - author: Oana Ghita, editor: Claudia Stanescu; EN - author: Simona Iacob, editor: Razvan-Adrian Pandea)