Diplomatic Institute Head: NATO Membership Guarantees Bulgarian Citizens' Security, Prosperity

Tanya Mihaylova, Director of the Diplomatic Institute with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, addressing the conference, Sofia, March 29, 2024 (BTA Photo)

Sofia,

29.03.2024 13:56

(BTA)

For 20 years now, Bulgaria's membership in NATO has been guaranteeing the security and prosperity of Bulgarian citizens, said Tanya Mihaylova, Director of the Diplomatic Institute with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, here on Friday. She was speaking at a national conference titled "20 years of Bulgaria in NATO: Because We Are Stronger Together".

The forum was held under the auspices of the outgoing government. It was organized by the Diplomatic Institute under the Foreign Minister, together with the Information Centre of the Ministry of Defence, the Atlantic Club of Bulgaria and the Sofia Security Forum.

This year the Alliance celebrates its 75th anniversary, Mihaylova recalled. She said March 29 ranks among the memorable dates in the history of the modern Bulgarian state. "As a NATO member, we are together with 31 other countries. Together we have a population of more than half a billion, only 8% of the Earth's population, but we produce 20% of the world's wealth because we are free," Mihaylova added.

"If we had not joined NATO, we would have failed the EU," said Solomon Passy, foreign minister in 2001-2005 and President of the Atlantic Club of Bulgaria. NATO was the big stepping stone for Bulgaria's EU membership, Passy added. A lot of work was done behind the scene - by the Bulgarian military, diplomats, administration, he added. "We can outline three political generations that built on what we have reached today," he noted.

/YV/