Sofia to Host NATO Strategic Military Partner Conference on June 17-19

Sofia will host NATO's Strategic Military Partner Conference 2014 at the level of Chiefs of Defence on June 17-19.

The conference is organized by the NATO Allied Command Transformation and will be opened at 8 am on June 18 by General Simeon Simeonov, Bulgarian Chief of Defence, and General Jean-Paul Paloméros, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, according to reports of Darik radio.

A total of 69 delegations have been invited to the conference, as well as around 300 representatives of the NATO member states and partner states under the following initiatives: Partnership for Peace, Mediterranean Dialogue, Istanbul Initiative for Cooperation and Partners Across The Globe.

Representatives of command bodies and structures of NATO are also expected to take part in the conference.

The goal of the conference is to review topical and strategic issues related to the further deepening of cooperation, as well as new complex challenges to security on a global scale.

The conference will provide the opportunity to create common stances among a wide circle of partners and members of NATO and to exchange ideas on the current state and further development of the processes related to defense and security.

The conference will have two main parts, including a plenary session at the level of Chiefs of Defence and meetings of expert-level working groups.

As part of the conference, General Simeon Simeonov will meet with General Jean-Paul Paloméros and with General Sir Adrian Bradshaw, NATO Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe.