Geopolitical and strategic confrontation in maritime areas necessitates a new approach to security that is not limited solely to traditional military threats. This was stated in Varna by Chief of Defence Admiral Emil Eftimov during the fifth International Maritime Forum "Global Compass," organized by the Bulgarian Association of Sea Captains under the patronage of the country's President and the Municipality of Varna. According to him, effective protection requires integrated cooperation between state institutions, the maritime industry, ports, the scientific community, and international partners.

During the event, special attention was paid to the need to develop maritime situational awareness capabilities. Admiral Eftimov emphasized the country's ambition to transform the "Naval Coordination Element" center, established through NATO, into a structure with the capacity for active management of shipping. "Through NATO, we established a 'Naval Coordination Element' center, which we have the ambition to upgrade and develop into a capability for the control and guidance of shipping. This is an important stage in the transformation process from passive monitoring and analysis to active interaction with the maritime sector," the Chief of Defence stated, as quoted by the Ministry of Defence press office. Furthermore, in cooperation with Romania, work is underway on a European Union project to build a civilian Maritime Security Center, with the Admiral placing emphasis on the preventive protection of critical and underwater infrastructure.

Eftimov assured that the army's efforts are aimed at maintaining the Black Sea as a safe zone for trade, investment, shipping, tourism, and cruises. To achieve this goal, concrete measures are being taken to minimize risks, including the improvement of anti-drone systems, which are already being developed by domestic companies. Expectations are that an exercise will be held in October, during which businesses will showcase their innovations in this field. "We in the military are doing everything possible to minimize risks; we respond to every alert and are developing and upgrading anti-drone systems," the Admiral stated firmly. In support of these capabilities, the delivery of seven mine hunters from Belgium and the Netherlands is also expected, with the first of them due to arrive at the end of this year or the beginning of next year.