U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will be present in Romania on Wednesday, on which occasion he will talk about Romania's role within NATO and the Black Sea region, acting Defense Minister Nicolae Ciuca said on Monday.Gral Ciuca recalled the roadmap for the next ten years signed by the Governments of Romania and the United States in 2020, adding that "All these topics that we will have on the agenda of the meeting will illustrate the role that our country plays inside the Alliance and in the region, and will also identify the real and verifiable elements".He stressed that the visit is also a confirmation of the need "to continue the solid involvement regarding the NATO concept in the line of defense reinforcement and deterrence on the Eastern Flank".Nicolae Ciuca participated in the launch of the Security Barometer of Romania, October 2021 edition, which took place at the Library of the Romanian Academy. (Photo: https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/lloyd-austin)