The annual Meeting of the Ministers of Defence of South-Eastern Europe opened in Sofia on Wednesday. The forum is held during the Bulgarian chairmanship of the South-Eastern Europe Defence Ministerial (SEDM) process.

Participating are the defence ministers of the SEDM member states, the observer nations (Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro and Serbia), representatives of the NATO commands in Naples and Brunssum, of the NATO Consulting, Command and Control Agency and NGOs.

Opening the Meeting, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov underscored the importance for Bulgaria of security and stability in the region, and the significance of keeping up the efforts and taking resolute action to protect them.

The Prime Minister welcomed the Defence Ministers of Serbia and Montenegro as full members of the SEDM process. "I have always said that there should be peace, understanding and cooperation in the Balkans and that the sooner [the Balkan countries] become EU members, the better for the prosperity of our nations", he said.

Prime Minister Borissov also said that Bulgaria, in its capacity as holder of the rotating chairmanship of the SEDM process, "will follow-up on everything valuable that has been achieved so far with joint efforts".

Defence Minister Nickolay Mladenov said in his statement that the fundamental risks - organized crime, illegal trafficking, corruption - are "risks that we should face together". He stressed the need of new forms of cooperation between the armed forces of the countries from the region.

Mladenov identified the financial crisis and the economic stagnation as factors that should be taken into account upon formulating the future forms of cooperation. "We should invest not only in national but also in joint efforts to achieve higher efficiency. There should be much higher confidence among us and more open relations as well as new culture and new thinking regarding our common values."

Commenting for the press later on the admission of Serbia and Montenegro to SEDM on Bulgaria's initiative, Mladenov defined the decision as highly important adding that there should be no security gaps on the map of Southeastern Europe.

The participants in the meeting confirmed their common will that the doors remain open for other interested countries from the region willing to join the organization.

Mladenov expressed the view that the potential of South Eastern Europe Brigade is not fully utilized. An analysis is to be made as to the type of missions the Brigade should fulfill in the future.

The Bulgarian Defence Minister proposed that the Novo Selo base be used for joint training and exercises with neighbouring countries.

Source: BTA