2024-05-06 17:46:35
“On this festive day, we must pay the necessary respect to the work of the servicemen, to their impeccable service, to their readiness to protect the Motherland. And at the moment there are people who perform combat duty, ensure the air and sea sovereignty of the state, there are Bulgarian military personnel who perform tasks in missions and operations abroad”.
This was said by the Minister of Defense Atanas Zapryanov today, May 6, after the Watering of the Battle Banners and the Banners of Relics, which marked the Day of Courage and a holiday of the Bulgarian Army.
The solemn ritual in front of the monument to the Unknown Warrior in the capital was attended by the President and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Rumen Radev, the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Rositsa Kirova, the Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev, the Chief of Defense Admiral Emil Eftimov, senior officers of the Armed Forces, representatives of the state leadership, the Diplomatic Corps, as well as the military-patriotic unions, reported the press center of the Ministry of Defense.
The consecration of the battle flags and holy flags was officiated by the Deputy Chairman of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, His Eminence Metropolitan Grigory of Vrachan. The flag platoon of the National Guard unit took part in the ritual with the flags – shrines and representative blocks of the armed forces. At the end of the solemn ritual, aerobatics were demonstrated by the MiG-29 crews from the 3rd air base, which flew over Alexander Nevsky Square.
In response to journalistic questions after the solemn ritual, Minister Zapryanov thanked the parliamentary parties for the decision they made to increase the salaries of military personnel. He noted that he expects the defense budget to grow to 2.5% of GDP, as are the recommendations made in the adopted Program for the Development of the Defense Capabilities of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria – 2032.
“The defense budget will grow and I believe that the budget of 2.5% of the GDP for defense will be enough to stabilize the personnel of the army, because the capital expenditure has already been determined and now we need investment for the people,” the Minister of Defense pointed out the defense.
The Chief of Defense Admiral Emil Eftimov thanked every general, admiral, officer, sergeant, sergeant, soldier, sailor and civilian employee in the Bulgarian Army for their professionalism, responsibility and discipline.
“The Bulgarian army is the guarantor of the security of our country. We are working hard to strengthen and strengthen our defense capabilities and to ensure the security of NATO’s South-Eastern flank independently and on an alliance scale,” the defense chief told representatives.
“I hope that we have matured as a society, that investments in defense secure the future of Bulgaria”, emphasized Admiral Eftimov. He was adamant that investments in armaments and equipment, infrastructure and for people in defense must go in parallel, so that these , who have chosen the military profession, to find their worthy personal and professional development.
The day of bravery and the holiday of the Bulgarian army was celebrated with festive concerts of the representative military bands and the bands of the military formations in the garrisons of Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Stara Zagora, Karlovo and Veliko Tarnovo.