Romania will become a founding member of the new Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB), an international financial institution dedicated to financing projects in defence, critical infrastructure and resilience, while Bucharest will host the bank's regional office for the Southern Flank, the Ministry of Finance announced on Wednesday.

'Romania is joining this initiative not merely as a participant but as a founding member that has helped shape the new institution from the outset. Romania's security and allied security can no longer be viewed solely through the lens of military planning; they require predictable financing, intelligently mobilised capital, strategic infrastructure and an industry capable of delivering. Collective defence requires collective capital. Through the DSRB, we are opening a new source of financing for Romania's strategic projects and for Romanian companies operating in high value-added sectors such as defence, critical infrastructure, energy, cyber security and emerging technologies. The fact that Bucharest will host the bank's regional office is recognition of Romania's role in the Black Sea region and on the Eastern Flank and, at the same time, a concrete opportunity to turn this strategic position into projects, investment and economic development,' Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare is quoted in the press release as saying.

According to the ministry, Bucharest will host the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank's regional office for the Southern Flank following negotiations among the founding member states. The decision strengthens Romania's role in the new financial architecture dedicated to European security and regional resilience and gives the country a significant position in the future development of the new international financial institution.

The Ministry of Finance said it had been involved from the project's early stages in defining the DSRB's institutional architecture and governance model, supporting the creation of a credible institution capable of attracting international investors and mobilising public and private capital for strategic investment in defence, critical infrastructure and resilience.

As a founding member, Romania will gain access to a new international financial instrument and to the decision-making mechanisms through which funding will be directed towards projects relevant to regional security, critical infrastructure and the development of the defence industry.

The ministry said the DSRB complements the existing international financial architecture through a mechanism dedicated to mobilising public and private capital for strategic investment in sectors where financing needs are increasing. The institution is not intended to replace existing funding mechanisms but to complement them by attracting additional resources and accelerating investment in defence, security and resilience.

For Romania, the new bank will create financing opportunities for strategic projects and Romanian companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the defence industry and related sectors. Depending on the financial instruments developed by the bank, these companies will be able to benefit from loans, guarantees and equity investments to expand production capacity, support innovation, develop emerging technologies and integrate into international supply chains.

The DSRB will also be able to support investment in critical infrastructure, transport, energy, digitalisation, cyber security, emerging technologies and defence- and resilience-related supply chains, helping to strengthen the capacity of member states to respond to current security challenges.

The Ministry of Finance said it would continue to support the development of modern financial instruments capable of multiplying the impact of public resources while attracting private and institutional capital to strategic projects aimed at strengthening Romania's security, resilience and economic competitiveness.

The DSRB will mobilise capital to help allied states finance their defence, security and resilience capabilities.

Designed to operate on a large scale, the bank will address three key challenges: providing affordable long-term financing for governments at low cost without placing additional pressure on national balance sheets, supporting smarter and faster public procurement by helping governments simplify and finance defence procurement processes and mobilising private capital by providing guarantees that enable commercial banks to finance defence and security companies across the entire supply chain. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: George Banciulea; EN - writing by: Adina Panaitescu)