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The Presidents of Bulgaria and Italy Visit the Novo Selo Training Area

Bulgarian service people contribute to the security not only of Bulgaria, but also of the entire region, said the head of state and supreme commander at a meeting with our contingent within the Multinational Battlegroup

Head of state Rumen Radev and his Italian counterpart, Sergio Mattarella, visited the Novo Selo Training Area today. The constructive cooperation between Bulgaria and Italy in the field of security and defence, as well as the opportunities for developing the partnership, were among the main topics during the visit of the president of Italy, who was on an official visit to Bulgaria at the invitation of the Bulgarian head of state.

At the Training Area, Radev and Mattarella were greeted with a guard of honour from the personnel of the Multinational Battlegroup in this country with the framework country Italy. The commander of the formation, Colonel Mariano Scandura, provided information on the mission and activities of the Battlegroup. The two presidents and the delegations led by them were briefed on the capabilities of the equipment and hardware, on display at the range. At Novo Selo, Presidents Radev and Mattarella held meetings with the Bulgarian and Italian contingents.

During his conversation with the Bulgarian military personnel, Radev pointed out that the highly responsible task of our military within the Multinational Battlegroup contributes not only to the security of Bulgaria, but also to the security and stability of the entire region. The head of state highly appreciated the opportunities within the multinational formation to increase the interoperability of our armed forces and to learn new tactics, techniques and procedures. Due to the war in Ukraine, the military sphere is developing extremely dynamically, which requires an increasingly intensive exchange with our allies to jointly build effective capabilities, the president added.

During the meeting, Radev also highlighted the problems facing the Bulgarian army, related to the lack of sufficient resources for combat training, the living and social conditions, the personnel security, resource insecurity , lack of modern equipment and weaponry. He reminded that over the years he has repeatedly insisted that not only urgent, but also even emergency measures be taken to prevent negative trends in staffing, noting that more and more decisive actions are being taken in this direction.

President Radev also pointed to the need to accelerate the process of modernisation of the army, emphasising not only the major defence projects, but also developing smaller low-budget projects that provide an asymmetric advantage. These processes must also be reflected in the preparation and training of service people, so as to guarantee the effectiveness of the operations and lives of servicemen.