site.btaDefence Minister Zapryanov Participates in NATO Meeting in Brussels

Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov participated in the meeting of NATO defence ministers held in Brussels on Thursday, the Ministry of Defence press centre announced. 

The ministers discussed increasing defence spending and Europe taking a greater role in its own security within NATO, as well as a more proactive Alliance approach to deterrence and defence. During an informal session, the ministers discussed long-term political and practical support for Ukraine. According to the ministry, Zapryanov stated during the meeting that ensuring peace and security in the Western Balkans are in Bulgaria's national interest and that Bulgaria has consistently supported NATO's ongoing focus on this area.

During the forum, the Bulgarian minister stressed the need to continue making progress on implementing the Hague commitments to increase defence spending. He said that Bulgaria had prepared a draft national plan for implementing its commitment to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035.

He highlighted investments related to the implementation of the NATO 2025 Capability Targets Package. He outlined the main modernization projects for the Bulgarian army and thanked the member states for their assistance in making them possible. He also commented on the active efforts to maintain the readiness of the armed forces and the consistent measures being taken to overcome the shortage of personnel. He also highlighted the significant increase in the production and export of defence products by Bulgarian industry, as well as the steps taken to increase capacity, according to the Ministry of Defence.

The Ministry of Defence also announced that Zapryanov had held bilateral meetings with the Greek and Belgian defence ministers.