site.btaDefence Minister Stoyanov to Visit Bosnia and Herzegovina, Butmir Base

Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov will meet his counterpart Sifet Podzic in Sarajevo, during a two-day visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina. They will discuss the development of bilateral cooperation in the field of defence and initiatives in the field of regional cooperation, the Defence Ministry said.

The Bulgarian delegation leaves on September 26, and its agenda includes a meeting with the Deputy Chairperson of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bisera Turkovic. They will also meet with the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sefik Dzaferovic.

Minister Stoyanov will visit the Butmir Camp Military Base, where he will meet with the soldiers of the Bulgarian military contingent, which is participating in the European Union Operation Althea. There, he will talk with the commanding officer of the EU Operation Althea, Major General Anton Veseli and with the head of the NATO Headquarters in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brigadier General Pamela McGaha. Bulgaria's participation in Operation Althea will be discussed at the meetings.

The Bulgarian delegation includes Chief of Defence Admiral Emil Eftimov, Deputy Defence Minister Teodora Genchovska, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Valery Yotov, the Commander of the Joint Forces Command Major General Valery Tsolov, and Defence Ministry experts.

On September 5, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Land Forces, Colonel Vasil Enchev, said that the Bulgarian military contingent that took part in Operation Althea received high praise from the operation command and coalition partners.