Xavier Bettel on a working visit to Romania

Minister Bettel first travelled to Cincu to visit the Getica military centre and to meet the 27 members of the Luxembourg contingent which forms part of the Forward Land Forces, a multinational NATO battalion.

In the presence of General Steve Thull, the Chief of Staff of the armed forces, Minister Bettel thanked all the Luxembourg soldiers, whose presence is greatly appreciated by the Romanian authorities. Alongside the French and Belgian troops also stationed at Cincu, the Luxembourg contingent is contributing to the security of NATO's eastern flank.

In Bucharest, the head of Luxembourg diplomacy then had a bilateral meeting with his counterpart, the Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luminița-Teodora Odobescu. The agenda included bilateral relations between Luxembourg and Romania, such as the presence of Luxembourg military personnel in Romania, a sign of friendship and trust between the two countries.

The ministers also discussed ways to further strengthen economic relations between the two countries, particularly in the fields of information and communication technologies (ICT) and cybersecurity.

In this context, Ministers Bettel and Odobescu signed a bilateral exchange programme in the fields of science, technology, higher education, education, culture, youth and sport.

The situation in the Black Sea, the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and the war in Gaza were also discussed in depth, as were the main European issues, such as EU enlargement, Schengen and the importance of the rule of law.

At the invitation of the Romanian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister Bettel also took part in a panel discussion at the Romanian Annual Diplomatic Conference on the multiple crises facing the European Union and NATO.  

Press release by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade