The potential for expanding cooperation between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Poland in the field of defense and defense industry was the focus of a meeting between Deputy Minister of Defense Katerina Gramatikova-Ivanova and Deputy Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Poland Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka. She is on an official visit to Bulgaria together with a government and business delegation.
The Bulgarian side was represented in the meeting by Deputy Minister of Economy, Investments and Industry Mihaela Karadimova, Deputy Chief of Defense Lieutenant General Krasimir Kanev, and representatives of line departments in both ministries. The Polish delegation includes representatives of state institutions related to defense, security and the defense industry.
Deputy Minister of Defense Katerina Gramatikova-Ivanova emphasized the excellent relations and long-standing partnership between Bulgaria and Poland in the field of defense. They are the basis for the development of future active cooperation in the implementation of modernization projects for the development of combat capabilities in accordance with NATO and the European Union initiatives to strengthen the Eastern Flank of the Alliance.
Deputy Minister Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka stated that Poland can contribute significant technological, industrial and operational added value to projects in the defense sector. The Polish side emphasized its desire to work closely with Bulgarian institutions and representatives of the defense industry to identify specific opportunities for cooperation and to develop projects that will contribute to the effectiveness, autonomy and competitiveness of the European defense sector.
The Bulgarian side presented the major modernization projects for the Bulgarian Army, as well as the nine projects with which our country has applied for funding from the European Commission under the SAFE mechanism. The intention of the Ministry of Defense to seek maximum participation of Bulgarian enterprises in the implementation of these projects was emphasized. In this context, partnership with other countries is extremely important. The participants in the meeting emphasized that building stable ties, strong partnerships and alliances will provide an opportunity for joint applications for funding projects under the next EU financial framework.
In addition to SAFE, there is potential for cooperation between Bulgaria and Poland in the areas of military-technical cooperation, aircraft repair, space technologies, the production of unmanned weapon systems and protection against them, as well as in using the capabilities of military educational institutions to improve the training of military personnel.