Loading ...Iraqi Army Chief of Staff Gen. Babakir Baderkhan Shawkt Zibari said on Monday that he does not know if the memorandum between the Romanian and the Iraqi governments on the stationing of Romanian troops on Iraq's soil after July 31 will be extended. He said that he cannot mention a deadline or say whether or not the memorandum of underrating will be extended beyond July 31, adding that any further development will take place under the NATO umbrella and in agreement between Iraq and Romania.
He added that the Iraqi Army still needs Romania's support as far as the modernisation of the new military structures of Iraq is concerned. Romania, said Gen Zibari, is a dear country to Iraq that has done many noble gestures toward the Iraqi people. He mentioned at the same time that cooperation with Romania in the future should not be limited to the military, adding that he would like to see economic cooperation as well for the remaking of the Iraqi infrastructure that has been destroyed.
Gen. Zibari reckoned that the Romanian Armed Forces have accomplished all the objectives entrusted to them in Iraq. Chief of Staff of the Romanian Army, Admiral Gheorghe Marin, said in turn that under the memorandum of understanding between the Romanian and the Iraqi governments, the missions to be carried out by the Romanian troops before July 31 regard providing and securing humanitarian and medical aid, training the troops in the operation theatre and advising the Iraqi Army on security issues.
„Our conversations focused on the transformations of the Romanian Army, with our guest showing an interest in the switch over from mandatory military service to volunteer service and from a mass army to smaller, leaner, more dynamic and more interoperable structures,” said Marin. The Romanian officials added that he wanted to provide his Iraqi counterpart with as many details as possible about the organisation of the Romanian Armed Forces, and their preoccupations with equipping, training and education at various echelons.
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