site.bta Bulgaria Has Managed to Consolidate Prestige as Leading Nation in Antarctic Exploration, President Says

Bulgaria has managed to consolidate its prestige as a leading nation in the study of Antarctica, said the country's President Rumen Radev on Friday in Varna in a congratulatory message to participants in the 34th Bulgarian Antarctic Expedition and the fourth voyage of Bulgaria’s naval research ship Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (RSV 421).

The message was read out by Vice Admiral Mitko Petev, the President's Adviser for Military Security, during the official ceremony of sending off RSV 421 from the Naval Station in Varna. 

"Bulgarian expeditions have become a symbol of high professionalism, dedication and significant contribution to fundamental scientific research in the fields of microbiology, medicine, ecology, marine biology, space research, oceanology and geology," the President stated in his congratulatory address. He emphasized that scientists from Romania, Greece, Montenegro, the UAE, the USA, Germany, Portugal, Colombia and Ecuador will take part in Bulgaria's expedition and will work together with the Bulgarian polar explorers.

During the expedition, RSV 421 will not only provide logistical support to the Bulgarian expedition for the fourth time and assistance to the expeditions of Spain and Turkiye, but will also actively participate in the scientific research programme, Radev pointed out. The President wished the ship and the polar explorers good luck and success in the mission they are called to carry out, driven by their love for science and their homeland.

BTA Director General Kiril Valchev has said that the national news agency will once again have a correspondent on board the RSV 421 research vessel during 4th Voyage to Antarctica.