The Republic of Poland’s support for maintaining the operational capability of the Bulgarian MiG-29 fighters confirms the special relations Between Bulgaria and Poland. This is what President Rosen Plevneliev said, who held talks today at 2 Dondukov street with Tomasz Siemoniak, deputy prime minister and defense minister of Poland. “You launched this initiative at your working visit in Gdansk in May, 2015 and we will fulfill it together,” Deputy Prime Minister Siemoniak said. He emphasized that Poland realizes how important it is for Bulgaria to maintain the airworthiness of its fighter aviation and will do its best to meet these expectations.
The position adopted by the President was that the bilateral agreement on cooperation in the defense sector signed today and also the Letter of intent between the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense and Poland’s Defense Minister on military and technical cooperation offer wide prospects for strengthening the partnership in the defense sector. “We consider these agreements not only as a means to extend the airworthiness of the Bulgarian fighter aviation, but also as a tool for strengthening the cooperation in the defense industry sector and in other sectors as well,” the Head of State further said.
The changed security environment in Eastern Europe necessitates a closer cooperation and a stronger integration between the countries from NATO’s eastern flank, President Plevneliev and Deputy Prime Minister Siemoniak said. “We are determined to fulfill the commitments assumed at the NATO summit in Wales and to gradually increase the defense funds to 2 percent of the GDP, taking into account the economic capacities of the country,” the Head of State emphasized. The President said that the agreement reached today is the result of the meeting of the Consultative Council for National Security held under his initiative in April 2015, where a decision was reached by full consensus to allocate sufficient funds for investments in defense capabilities and for using them to considerably increase the interoperability between the Bulgarian Armed Forces and our partner armies in NATO. The Head of State pointed out that this will reduce Bulgaria’s dependence on the supply of armaments from a single supplier.
Bulgaria and Poland share common positions on all major topics on the EU and NATO agenda and are ready to strengthen their cooperation, it was further highlighted at the meeting. President Plevneliev voiced his conviction that the active dialogue between the presidential institutions and the two countries will be further developed during President Adrzej Duda’s term in office. Deputy Prime Minister Siemoniak conveyed the best regards of Bronislaw Komorowski, president of Poland (2010-2015) to the Bulgarian Head of State and also Polish Head of State Adrzej Duda’s assurance that the bilateral agreements reached and the joint initiatives launched will be continued.
President Plevneliev and Deputy Prime Minister Siemoniak shared the opinion that the enhanced migration pressure along the external EU borders is a European problem and a long-lasting phenomenon, the solution of which requires solidarity and joint actions taken by all European states.