ANDthis meeting was shared on the official account of the Ministry of Defense on the ‘Twitter’ social network, with a photo having also been published in which the Chief of the General Staff of the Portuguese Armed Forces, Admiral António Silva Ribeiro, appears, next to Minister Helena Careers.

According to the message, “cooperation between the defense forces of both countries” was discussed.

It is noted that Portugal has troops in Romania “as part of NATO’s deterrence and defense efforts”.

“The European Union’s training mission for Ukrainian soldiers, in which Portugal participates, was another of the topics considered”, the message also mentions.

MDN received CEMGFA from Romania, having talked about cooperation between #defense from both countries. 🇵🇹 is in 🇷🇴 as part of the effort to dissuade and defend the @BORN🇧🇷 The 🇪🇺 military training mission 🇺🇦, in which 🇵🇹 participates, was another of the topics discussed. pic.twitter.com/Ykef5oTLY7

— National Defense (@defesa_pt) December 5, 2022

Helena Carreiras had already stated that Portugal would participate “with 20 soldiers” in this EU military training mission aimed at the Ukrainian army.

In October, 166 Portuguese soldiers from the 2nd Detached National Force left for Romania on a NATO mission in that country, which aims to contribute to the Atlantic Alliance’s deterrence and defense effort on its southeastern flank.

The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, communicated today to the parliament that a visit is planned before Christmas to the Portuguese soldiers of the National Detached Force who are participating in a NATO mission in Romania.

In the letter addressed to the Assembly of the Republic, the head of state and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces asks for “the necessary consent” of the deputies for his “travel to Romania, on December 19 and 20, 2022, in order to visit, in the Christmas Eve” the Deployed National Force in this country.

On the day of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, February 24, the Superior Council for National Defense met as a matter of urgency and gave its opinion to support, unanimously, the possible participation of Portuguese military assets in NATO readiness forces and the anticipation of sending of Portuguese soldiers to Romania.

The plan for deployed national forces for 2022 already precedes the sending of a contingent of Portuguese soldiers to Romania in the second half of this year, as happened in 2021, but the departure was brought forward due to the context of war between Ukraine and Russia.

The 1st Detached National Force, made up of 222 Portuguese soldiers, left for Romania on April 15 of this year.

On May 19, the Prime Minister, António Costa, visited and spoke to 222 Portuguese soldiers at the Caracal Military Base, with the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, and the Romanian Prime Minister, Nicolae Ciucâ, at his side, who thanked the presence of national troops in their country.

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