Nicușor Dan, at the opening of the B9 Summit: We need to develop a solid transatlantic military industrial base.

The President of Romania, Nicușor Dan, declared on Wednesday at the opening of the B9 Summit and the Nordic Countries that it is necessary to increase defense spending, which must be transformed into capabilities and "we need to increase the contribution of European allies to the alliance and develop a solid transatlantic military industrial base."

The B9 Summit in Bucharest, co-chaired by President Nicușor Dan and his Polish counterpart, Karol Nawroki, began on Wednesday at Cotroceni, at 10:30, with the official reception of the heads of delegations, and at 11:00 the plenary session actually started.

Nicușor Dan emphasized the dynamic international climate, referring to the war in Ukraine, two months before the NATO summit in Ankara, while all the countries present at the summit are in proximity to Ukraine, the Black Sea, and in proximity to areas where the territory is threatened.

"The goal is to coalesce, to align our visions for the future of the North Atlantic alliance. For any of our countries, strengthening the alliance is a priority," said the President of Romania.

"We need to do a few things, to increase defense spending, which we must transform into capabilities, we need to increase the contribution of European allies to the Alliance and develop a solid transatlantic military industrial base. This meeting is an opportunity to see where we are in implementing the commitments we made at the previous NATO summit in The Hague and it is an opportunity to reaffirm support for Ukraine and Moldova, support that we must make effective, not just declarative," he added.