Romania takes the revitalization of the defense-related economic area very seriously, President Nicusor Dan told visiting NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday.

'Today, I welcomed Mr. Mark Rutte on his first visit to Romania as NATO Secretary General. We had a very productive discussion, in the context where the Alliance and Romania are organizing these days in Bucharest the NATO Industry Forum, with the participation of several hundred companies from the defense industry. I told the Secretary General that our country takes the revitalization of the defense-related economic area very seriously,' the head of the state said in a Facebook post.

The president mentioned that the meeting at the Cotroceni Palace focused on the security situation in the Euro-Atlantic area and the need to increase defense spending.

'We also talked about the Black Sea area, where Romania has a particular security interest in connection with the eastern flank. Another important topic was the Eastern Sentry, NATO's eastern flank air defense initiative, which includes Romania. In this context, we approached the topic of additional military capabilities that will be deployed, including to our country. At the same time, I discussed with Mr. Rutte hybrid threats and how we can cooperate to counter them. Romania will fulfill its pledged commitments and will continue to be a security provider for the Euro-Atlantic area. We have allies and we are well protected against any kind of potential threat,' Nicusor Dan pointed out.

According to the head of the state, 'the message conveyed by Mark Rutte was that, without a doubt, NATO is committed to defending every inch of allied territory.'

'The Secretary General emphasized the fact that our country invests in NATO and assured that in its turn, NATO invests in Romania,' the president said.

Nicusor Dan and the NATO Secretary General also discussed the need to increase defense spending.

'We discussed the additional military capabilities that will be deployed to the entire eastern flank, and implicitly to Romania. On Romania's behalf, I mentioned that our country will continue to invest in reinforcing its military capabilities. We spoke a little about the Black Sea area, where Romania has a particular security interest as far as the eastern flank is concerned,' the president told a joint press conference held at the Cotroceni Palace with NATO's Secretary General. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Andreea Rotaru; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)