The annual South-Eastern Europe Defence Ministerial (SEDM) meeting was held on the 17th of November in Sofia, Bulgaria. Ministers STOYANOV (Bulgaria), BURCHULADZE (Georgia), TÎLVĂR (Romania), NOSATÎI (Moldova), representatives from SEDM Nations, SEEBRIG HQ, UNDP/SEESAC, and RACVIAC participated. The meeting was presided by the SEDM Chairperson Ms. Teodora Genchovska, Deputy Minister of Defence of the Republic of Bulgaria.
In her opening remarks, the Chairperson stressed the security challenges and emerging threats that the modern world is facing and that the SEDM initiative will continue strengthening the cooperation in the upcoming years. Moreover, the Chairperson condemned the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine and saluted the courage of the Ukrainian people in overcoming the tremendous difficulties they are currently facing.
H.E Dimitar Stoyanov, Minister of Defence of the Republic of Bulgaria, reaffirmed the regional cooperation as of one of the key priorities for Bulgaria, as a way to enhance the security and stability in the region. The Minister condemned the Russian aggression and stated that the SEDM countries follow the current developments in and around Ukraine with great concern.
Following the update on the latest developments on SEDM-CC projects and PMSC activities, given by Ms. Teodora Genchovska, the Commander of the South-Eastern Europe Brigade (SEEBRIG) Brigadier General Mitroutsikos reviewed the Brigade’s activities since the last SEDM Ministerial meeting in 2021 and presented the documents to be approved by the MPFSEE Nations.
During the meeting, the SEDM nations’ Ministers and their representatives expressed their national views and commitment to the SEDM Process, thus contributing to the importance of the Initiative as a crucial format for regional cooperation.
The full joint statement is available here.