On July 8 a farewell ceremony was held at the Ministry of National Defence for the outgoing Defence Attaché of Bulgaria to Lithuania, Col Boyan Dimitrov, who was appointed to the position from 2017.
“Lithuania and Bulgaria have sufficiently close relations, and that is not solely because Bulgaria is among top Lithuanians’ vacation choices. Bulgaria and Lithuania are akin countries because of the values and interests they share, including mutual contribution to global peace and security,” Vice Minister of National Defence Vytautas Umbrasas said an thanked the Defence Attaché ending his term in office for impeccable work, engagement in activities in Lithuania, and strengthening bilateral relations.
Vice Minister also expressed delight about “the increasingly frequent political dialogue on bilateral Lithuanian-Bulgarian relations and cooperation in NATO and EU formats.”
Outgoing Defence Attaché Col B. Dimitrov was also accredited to Estonia, Latvia, and Poland, his office was in Warsaw. The officer is an alumnus of “G. S. Rakovksi” National Defence College in Sofia (Bulgaria), before starting the diplomatic career he served in different units of the Bulgarian Armed Forces and several missions in Afghanistan.
The incoming Defence Attaché is expected to arrive in Lithuania in the nearest while. Lithuania does not a have its Defence Attaché to Bulgaria.
The farewell ceremony was also attended by Honorary Consul of Bulgaria in Lithuania Laurynas Jonušauskas.
Lithuania and Bulgaria have been developing defence cooperation since 2009 on the basis of a bilateral cooperation agreement signed between the Ministries of Defence of the two countries. The countries sign a bilateral cooperation plan annually foreseeing several annual events in areas of relevance.
The Government of Bulgaria passed a decision in February 2016 providing an opportunity for soldiers of the Lithuanian Air Force to improve qualification at training centres in Bulgaria. An inter-state military cooperation is also conducted by the Military Academy of Lithuania and the Defence College of Bulgaria according to the ERASMUS programme.
Photo credits: A. Pliadis (MoD)
