site.btaUPDATED Prime Minister Zhelyazkov Opens Sofia-Hosted Defence Forum

On January 1, Bulgaria will take a very decisive step toward completing its European integration — a path that has been unwavering, yet extremely difficult, since November 10, 1989, said Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov on Tuesday at the opening of a conference “Defence and Democracy Dialogue: Fortifying Freedom” in Sofia. The forum is organized by the Center for the Study of Democracy.

“The Bulgarian government is committed to strengthening freedom - freedom as we understand it, and as we have been striving, with great difficulty, to build over the past 36 years,” the Prime Minister said.

Only democracies that are united internally and among themselves can overcome the threats coming from multiple directions. At present, the division line is clear - on one side stand the traditional, so-called Western democracies, and on the other, new thematic alliances with an explicitly revisionist orientation - Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran, which challenge the Western principles of democracy, commented Zhelyazkov.

According to him, the clearest and greatest demonstration of this is the war in Ukraine. All the various forms in which this war is being waged, from direct military conflict to digital warfare, sabotage operations, and energy blackmail, are aimed at destabilization: destabilization of Europe and destabilization of the democratic world, the Prime Minister further stated.

“As a centrist Euro-Atlantic coalition, we prioritize European integration and the defence of Ukraine’s democratic future as part of a united Europe,” said Rosen Zhelyazkov.

“We see existing and potential alliances as our best defense in this fragmented world. We are on the front line of NATO and the EU, both against conventional and hybrid pressures. This position gives us a special role: to connect regions and to build democratic partnerships,” said the Prime Minister.

“Democratic alliances are not only about military or economic strength. They are about mutual trust, sharing information, sharing data, and sharing technologies. Bulgaria contributes to these efforts by strengthening its cyber diplomacy, supporting Ukraine’s recovery, and backing projects for energy and transport connectivity that make our region more resilient,” Zhelyazkov noted.

“From a strategic perspective, perhaps the most important long-term investment direction for the future resilience of our countries, for the next generation, is education,” said the Prime Minister. “Education must prepare the next generations for digital citizenship, but for digital and democratic citizenship. The next generation will defend democracy not only with ideas, but also with technological competence.”

According to him, if there are two priorities that must be set ahead for many generations and many governments to come, they are demography and education. “That is why our policy is focused on the young, on children; that is why the development of their educational skills, their preparedness for life, and the challenges posed by the technological revolution receive purposeful action from the state — targeted funding and the necessary care,” the Prime Minister explained.

He went on to say that strengthening freedom means building citizens who understand both their rights and their responsibilities. “I am convinced that our sovereignty is secure only when citizens have trust in their democracy. And that also means trust in the institutions. And that, in turn, requires a great deal of work from the institutions to earn that trust. When we build confidence in our institutions and rely on our partnerships, then people will believe that there is nothing better than democracy, and they will stand firm in defending their freedom,” Rosen Zhelyazkov added.