Bulgaria to increase military budget and modernize its armed forces to meet NATO standards 1110141

Posted On
a

Defence & Security News - Bulgaria
 
 
Saturday, October 11, 2014 03:17 PM
 
Bulgaria to increase military budget and modernize its armed forces to meet NATO standards.
Bulgaria would do its best to increase military budget and modernize armed forces in order to meet NATO standards, high officials said here on Friday at a defense industry forum. "Bulgaria will do everything to increase defense spending within the limited resources of the national budget," country's President Rosen Plevneliev said at the event attended by senior NATO officials, generals and representatives of more than 100 Bulgarian companies and research institutes.
     
Bulgaria would do its best to increase military budget and modernize armed forces in order to meet NATO standards, high officials said here on Friday at a defense industry forum. "Bulgaria will do everything to increase defense spending within the limited resources of the national budget," country's President Rosen Plevneliev said at the event attended by senior NATO officials, generals and representatives of more than 100 Bulgarian companies and research institutes.
Bulgarian Army and U.S. soldiers train together on the proper way to enter and secure a residence during a Military Operations on Urban Terrain (MOUT) exercise at the Novo Selo training area in Bulgaria (BGR).
     
Plevneliev, who is also the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the country's Armed Forces, said they needed technological rearmament and modernization, and the interoperability with NATO allies was a "total priority."

According to Plevneliev, Bulgaria could build a modern and highly mobile army by objective prioritization of required capabilities and related modernization projects, full transparency, control, and close cooperation with the project management agencies of NATO and the European Union (EU).

In addition, the country also had to optimize its participation in the NATO's "Smart Defense" and "Connected Forces", and the EU's "Pooling and Sharing" initiatives, and to better use the 14 security support programs of the U. S. government.

In turn, caretaker Defense Minister Velizar Shalamanov said all modernization projects would be implemented with the participation of Bulgarian industry and science.

Heinrich Brauss, NATO's Assistant Secretary General for Defense Policy and Planning said that the alliance is very interested in the modernizing and transforming of Bulgaria's armed forces according to NATO requirements, so that all the allied forces can work effectively togethe