Prime Minister Rumen Radev said Bulgaria will continue strengthening its defense capabilities and expanding its defense industry, describing the country's role in the Black Sea region as increasingly important during the NATO summit in Ankara.
Radev welcomed the growing commitment of European NATO members to assume greater responsibility for the Alliance's collective security, saying the changing security environment requires long-term investment. “Today's summit is taking place at an important moment of profound transformation of the Alliance, which reflects the need and the ambition of the European member states to strengthen their contribution to NATO's common defense capabilities,” he said.
According to the prime minister, the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East have demonstrated that European countries must take greater responsibility for protecting their own security. He said Bulgaria's efforts to modernize its armed forces would also strengthen stability across the strategically significant Black Sea region. “By strengthening our own national defense capacity, our country is becoming an important factor of stability in the critical and strategically important Black Sea region for the Alliance,” Radev stated.
