On 15 and 16 July 2015, the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency) General Manager, MGEN (rtd) Koen Gijsbers was hosted in Bucharest by the Romanian Chief of General Staff, LGEN Nicolae Ciucă. During his visit MGEN (rtd) Koen Gijsbers also met with the Deputy Head of Defence Policy and Planning Department, the Deputy State Secretary for Armaments Department, the Deputy Land Forces Commander, the Chief Communications and Information Systems Directorates, and Senior Representatives from Romanian Defence Industry. During his meetings, MGEN (rtd) Gijsbers also had the opportunity to visit the new NATO Force Integration Unit (NFIU) and the Multinational Division South East (MND SE) to meet with their respective Commanders.
Supporting NATO's Readiness Action Plan
The primary focus of the visit was to discuss support to Romania's NFIU and MND SE as part of implementing NATO's Readiness Action Plan. The Agency is responsible for providing connectivity between the NFIU and NATO's networks. In terms of the Multinational Division, the support will include NATO solutions at affordable cost to guarantee interoperability in a secure environment within a short timeframe.
Together with the other NFIU Nations (Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland), Romania plays an important regional role in facing the security challenges emanating from NATO's Eastern borders and Southern flank. NATO Secretary General, Mr Jens Stoltenberg, visited Bucharest, Romania, two weeks earlier and underlined that Romania's operational headquarters send "a clear message: that NATO is here. NATO is ready to defend Romania against any threat."
Future cooperation
Further discussions focused on exploring future cooperation opportunities, building on excellent cooperation within the Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance (C4ISR) area. For example, Romania is an active member of the Multinational Cyber Defence Project (MNCD), and is receiving NCI Agency support for important air and maritime projects. Opportunities for expanded cooperation included a multi-year Programme of Work between the Agency and Romania, the establishment of a Romanian National technical expert at the Agency and support for NATO Partner country Moldova.
Finally, MGEN (rtd) Gijsbers briefed the Defence Industry on upcoming business opportunities and how the establishment of a National Technical Expert will help facilitate their involvement in NATO projects by providing visibility on upcoming competition and bidding processes.
For more information, please contact:
NCI Agency Customer Relationship Management Section
Tel +32 2 707 8574
Fax +32 2 707 8770
Email demand.management@ncia.nato.int