site.btaDefence Minister Outlines Bulgaria's Policy Priorities to Military Attachés

Bulgaria's Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov on Friday presented the country's defence policy priorities, its contribution to EU initiatives strengthening European defence, its role in developing NATO's defence capabilities, and the outlook for the development and modernization of the Armed Forces, to the Corps of Military Attachés accredited to and in Bulgaria, the Defence Ministry said.

The meeting, traditionally held ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays, was attended by 30 military attachés representing 23 countries, as well as Deputy Defence Ministers Adelina Nikolova and Radostin Iliev, and the Deputy Chiefs of Defence, Lieutenant General Mihail Popov and Lieutenant General Krasimir Kanev.

The talks focused on the progress achieved in developing defence cooperation.

The foreign military diplomats are organized within the Corps of Military Attachés - Sofia, whose activities are led by Romania's Defence, Military, Naval and Air Attaché, Colonel Vasile Onesimiuc,. His deputy is Serbia's Defence Attaché, Lieutenant Colonel Nebojsa Vujanac. Lieutenant Commander Kristin Moore, Assistant Naval Attaché of the United States, coordinates financial matters.

On December 4, Zapryanov attended the final phase of Exercise Cyber Coalition 25. He underlined its importance for overall preparedness to counter cyber threats that could affect many critical systems essential to society's functioning. The Defence Minister expressed satisfaction that numerous institutions and government bodies involved in cyber security and the protection of critical infrastructure were deeply engaged in the exercise.

As part of the same exercise, the National Reaction Center for Incidents in Connection with Information Security received a NATO award for technical readiness in responding to cyberattacks. According to the Ministry of Electronic Governance, the award followed successful simulations of a coordinated national response to cyber incidents affecting the power grid and other elements of critical infrastructure, involving the National Reaction Center for Incidents in Connection with Information Security, sectoral incident response teams, the General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime, the State Agency for National Security, the Ministry of Defence, the Electricity System Operator, and Information Services JSC.