Radio Bulgaria

On June 13 the chiefs of defense of Balkan countries held their 6th annual conference in Sofia. Balkan military cooperation does not have a rich history of development but has already made a considerable progress.

Countries in the region cooperate in the sphere of defense in the framework of the process of meetings of defense ministers in Southeastern Europe. The annual conferences started in 2007. Bulgarian Chief of Defense, General Simeon Simeonov said the forum was still young but it has already marked a progress. All Balkan countries are already joining efforts in analysis of the threats and contemporary challenges. Military cooperation has also started being part of the sphere of energy security. Part of this process was the Energy Flame 2011 drill, which took place in Bulgaria and was assessed highly by Balkan defense ministers. Future spheres of cooperation will be cybernetic security and satellite communication.

One of the major goals of the conference was creating opportunities for cooperation in the sphere of military training. That is why it was decided that a network for military training would be created in Southeastern Europe. The network will link the existing simulation centers, which would promote a big number of simulations and trainings for the personnel in the region.

An interesting fact about regional cooperation on the Balkans is the fact that this is cooperation between NATO members and states that want to joint the Alliance in the future. This way leaving behind conflicts from the past and cooperating in the military sphere would help for the Balkans to become a symbol of stability and prosperity.

English: Alexander Markov