site.btaSofia to Host Defence and Innovations Forum on February 6

A conference dedicated to the growing need for support of the defence industry and opportunities for innovation will be held at Sofia Tech Park on Tuesday, the Ministry of Defence reported. The forum, which is the first event in the calendar to mark the 20th anniversary of Bulgaria's accession to NATO, aims to promote EU and NATO initiatives and projects in the defence sector.

The event will be opened by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mariya Gabriel.

Discussions will focus on the future of defence industries in Europe, as well as topics related to defence innovation and opportunities to increase and modernize the production capacity of the Defence Technology Industrial Base. Representatives of the Bulgarian defence industry will have the opportunity to present their production and technological capabilities.

The conference, organized jointly by the Ministries of Defence, of Innovation and of Economy, will be held in two sessions: one on strengthening the European defence industry in the new geopolitical context and the other on science, innovation and emerging technologies for defence industry development. Participants will include the head of the Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space at the European Commission, Timo Pesonen; NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Innovation, Hybrid, and Cyber, David van Weel; Director Life Cycle Management at NATO Support and Procurement Agency, Allan McLeod; NATO Communications and Information Agency Chief Technology Officer, Antonio Calderon.

The conference will also be attended by the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Defence Hristo Gadzhev, Defence Minister Todor Tagarev, Innovation and Growth Minister Milena Stoycheva, Education and Science Minister Galin Tzokov, Deputy Defence Minister Stanimir Georgiev, Deputy Economy and Industry Minister Irina Shtonova and Deputy Innovation and Growth Minister Georgi Angelov. More than 250 participants from the Bulgarian defence industry, scientific organizations, the state administration and the Bulgarian armed forces have registered for the forum.