SOFIA/SARAJEVO – Multinational cooperation is very much needed to address present security challenges in South East Europe (SEE), SEE defence policy directors agreed at a meeting in Sofia today.

The two-day meeting, co-organized by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Secretariat and the Bulgarian Ministry of Defence, discussed ways to enhance regional defence and security cooperation, by joining efforts to face common security challenges such as the world financial crisis. It aimed at consolidating trust, proposing new initiatives and formulating techniques to improve the region-wide transnational defence cooperation framework.

 “The RCC supports closer collaboration on security in SEE, as an important factor of stability, contributing substantially to a further integration of the region into European and Euro-Atlantic structures”, said Deputy RCC Secretary General, Jelica Minic, while addressing the meeting participants.

“Moreover, the current global financial and economic crisis is not bypassing our region and is likely to influence regional defense cooperation programmes as well. The openness and transparency of this meeting will allow the SEE not only to sustain the achieved level of mutual confidence and security, but also to find ways to enhance them.”

Meeting participants included high level officials of the ministries of defence from SEE, as well as representatives of the General Secretariat of the Council of the EU and NATO.