The Minister of Defence Awarded a Honorary Plaque to the Rector and Participated in Round-Table Conference on the Contemporary Security Issues

The Minister of Defence Dragomir Zakov visited the UNWE. He met with the Rector Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov and participated in a Round-Table Conference on the Contemporary Security Issues. Minister Zakov who is a graduate of UNWE awarded to Prof. Dimitrov a Honorary Plaque of the Minister of Defence and wrote a dedication in the Golden Book of the University.

Minister Dragomir Zakov and Prof. Dimitar Dimitrov (from the left to the right)

"Dear Prof. Dimitrov, Dear colleagues, lecturers and students, It is a great honour for me to be a guest at one of the most authoritative higher education institutions not only in Bulgaria. The UNWE is the place where between 1994 and 1999 I received some of the most valuable knowledge not only in the field of economics and finance but also of life and its challenges. The friendships from those golden years are alive and lasting also today. The knowledge obtained here is still very valuable to me today and helps me not only in my personal life but also in my professional life. I wish the UNWE leadership and lecturers to continue being those awakeners without whom Bulgaria and the Bulgarian identity will never be preserved for the future generations", wrote the Minister in the Golden Book.

The Round-Table Conference was organized by the Department of National and Regional Security at UNWE.

The Rector Prof. Dimitar Dimitrov welcomed the participants in the Round-Table Conference and outlined that the UNWE is proud of the fact that its graduate heads the defence of the Republic of Bulgaria. He pointed out that the Department of National and Regional Security has specialties in the field of economics of defence and security, corporate security, cybersecurity, nuclear security. The UNWE and the Ministry have a tradition and have cooperated over the years and it is good to continue this partnership by renewing the Memorandum of Cooperation between both institutions", said Prof. Dimitrov.

The Minister of Defence said that the Master degree in International Economic Relations from the University of National and World Economy had been a foundation for him and what he had learnt at theUuniversity had been extremely useful for his development and career. "Those five years I spent at the UNWE were extremely formative for what happened to me later", said Minister Zakov.

In his speech the Minister of Defence spoke about the National Security Strategy. He pointed out that the war in Ukraine would change the overall thinking about how we should look at the world in the future as geopolitics, about the way the European, Euro-Atlantic and global security should function.

Dragomir Zakov promised his help and expertise as well as that of his team if the UNWE decides to educate students in cybersecurity. It was in response to the question whether experts from the ministry could be relied on which was addressed to the Minister by the Vice-Rector for Digitalization and Cybersecurity Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rosen Kirillov.

"The cybersecurity is the topic number one at the moment even more because of the war in Ukraine", outlined the Minister. According to his words this area will develop at a rapid pace in the coming years and therefore we cannot afford to stand aside. “Any investment in this field is an investment that will pay for itself many times" said explicitly Dragomir Zarkov.

Prof. Dimitrov also took part in the discussion. He said that recently a Start-Up Office had been opened at the University which could be used as a starting point on the topic Cyber Security. "Regarding the integration of universities and military institutions - last year a research programme on security was approved. We are part of it. The Council of Ministers has already approved its funding. The issues of cybersecurity and the conceptual development of defence are enshrined in the programme", explained Prof. Dimitrov and recommended to Minister Zarkov to follow its development as it will be useful for the future cooperation between the institutions and universities.