A defense budget of 3 – 3.5% of the gross domestic product (GDP) is the minimum limit that we must have in order to ensure the modernization of our armed forces, said Defense Minister Atanas Zapryanov, after awarding military personnel on the occasion of the Day of Bravery and the Bulgarian Army holiday, the press center of the ministry reported.
„A defense budget of 2% of GDP is not enough, so we will have to convince the state and political leadership and the public that a budget of 3 – 3.5% is the minimum limit that we must have in order to ensure the modernization of our armed forces,“ said the minister.
Without motivated personnel, we cannot fulfill our military duty and our constitutional and legal obligations to protect the territorial integrity of the country and our contribution to collective defense, said Zapryanov.
“Today I would like to focus on honor, dignity, professionalism and duty. When we talk about duty and honor, about morality and dignity, we mean servicemen like you, who tirelessly work and fulfill their official duties in combat training, and in carrying out combat duty, and in performing tasks in operations, and in peacetime activities. This gives me optimism, as the Minister of Defense, to calmly assure the government that our armed forces are able to fulfill their constitutional duty. Because they are patriots, they are faithful to the oath, they carry out their service with honor and dignity“, said the minister of the awarded military personnel.
In his words, people are increasingly convinced that the peace and security of countries are not a gift, they must be protected.
“The awards that were presented are symbolic, but they are not symbolic of our recognition, respect and gratitude for the service and for the efforts that you make in your daily activities“, emphasized the Chief of Defense Admiral Emil Eftimov.
This year's awardees come from all types of commands from the types of armed forces and higher military educational institutions, Admiral Eftimov pointed out. “This is confirmation that the army is a complex mechanism in which we are all mutually dependent“, said Admiral Eftimov. “The rearmament and modernization of the Bulgarian Army is underway – a difficult, challenging path that we have been waiting for with great hopes in order to perform our official duties even better in the complex security environment“, the Chief of Defense also said.
The Minister of Defense and the Chief of Defense also thanked the military athletes for their high achievements and the medals won at the World Winter Military Games.
The military personnel, civilian employees and military athletes – medalists from the World Winter Military Games were awarded with material awards, diplomas and distinctions of the Ministry of Defense: the honorary badge “St. George“, III degree for officers, award badges “For Valiant Service“, “For Excellent Service“, “For Faithful Service under the Banners“ etc.