site.btaSofia Hosts National Security Strategy Seminar

A thematic seminar on the update of the national security strategy of Bulgaria under the patronage of the Security Council at the Council of Ministers kicked off in Sofia on Monday. It was opened by Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov, Rector of the University of National and World Economy (UNWE). The event is part of the national scientific programme "Security and Defence", which has been running for two years now.

The programme is something unique, because it is happening for the first time in the history of Bulgaria. Ten organisations, all in the field of defence and security, came together and negotiated for nearly three years with five governments and five ministers of defence, home affairs and education to make the programme happen, Prof. Dimitrov said.

“The environment around us started to change very quickly and things that we considered unthinkable are now a reality. We thought that some of the traditional threats had already disappeared. In the 1990s and the early 2000s, there was talk that we should reduce the Armed Forces, but it turned out that was not exactly the case and new threats were emerging,” the UNWE Rector pointed out.

“The uncertain environment we are in, all the military conflicts, the emergence of non-traditional risks, hybrid attacks and energy security are just some of the current challenges and require innovative solutions,” Deputy Interior Minister Toni Todorov said.