Sofia will host the annual meeting of the Deputy Chiefs of Defense and Deputy Chiefs of General Staff of the countries participating in the South-East Europe Defense Ministers' Meeting Process (SEDM DCHODs Meeting) on June 11 and 12, the press center of the Ministry of Defense (MOD) announced. The event will be hosted by the Deputy Chief of Defense, Lieutenant General Mikhail Popov.
The forum will be attended by the Deputy Chiefs of Defense and representatives of the member countries of the SEDM Process, the Headquarters of the Multinational Brigade “Southeast Europe” (SEEBRIG), the Center for Security Cooperation (RACVIAC) and the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC).
The meetings are held annually in one of the member countries on a rotational basis. Bulgaria hosted this format of meetings in 2006 and 2012, the Ministry of Defense added.
In 2024, the meeting of the Deputy Chiefs of Defense of the countries participating in the SEDM Process was held in Istanbul, with the Bulgarian delegation led by the Deputy Chief of Defense, Lieutenant General Mikhail Popov. During the meeting, the security environment in the region, as well as regional cooperation in the field of defense, was discussed. In their speeches, the heads of the national delegations of the member countries introduced the participants in the meeting to the positions of their countries on current issues, as well as the progress achieved and the opportunities for further development of SEDM.