site.btaBulgarian Companies Are Active Participants in NATO Tenders, Won Contracts Worth EUR 26 Mln in 2022

Addressing a high-level conference on "Growing Demand for Defence Industrial Support and Innovation Opportunities" on Wednesday, Deputy Economy and Industry Minister Irina Shtonova said Bulgarian companies participate in NATO tenders and signed contracts worth over EUR 26 million in 2022 alone, her Ministry said. The forum, which opened on Tuesday, is the first event in the year when Bulgaria is marking the 20th anniversary of its accession to NATO.

Shtonova also said the Ministry of Economy and Industry provides opportunities for Bulgarian defence companies to participate in EU programmes, such as the European Defence Fund, to strengthen the competitiveness and innovation capacity of the sector. In 2022, nine out of 41 projects approved for financing from the Fund involved Bulgarian companies. She recalled that Bulgarian ammunition manufacturers were given a chance to expand their production capacity with EU grant funding under the Act in Support of Ammunition Production (ASAP).

The forum was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel, Defence Minister Todor Tagarev, Innovation and Growth Minister Milena Stoycheva, Education and Science Minister Galin Tzokov, Parliamentary Defence Committee Chair Hristo Gadzhev, Timo Pesonen, Director-General for Defence Industry and Space at the European Commission, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Innovation, Hybrid, and Cyber David van Weel, Allan McLeod, Director Life Cycle Management at NATO Support and Procurement Agency, and NATO Communications and Information Agency Chief Technology Officer Antonio Calderon, among others.

The organizers are the Ministries of Defence, of Innovation and Growth, and of Economy and Industry.