Rumen Radev discusses the opportunities for expanding international cooperation in space research and technology with NASA Administrator Bill Nelson

Space exploration data and related technologies are finding increasing application in our daily lives and Bulgaria will continue to develop its potential, including by deepening international cooperation with leading countries in this field. This is what President Rumen Radev said at a meeting with the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Bill Nelson, who is visiting Bulgaria. Among the participants in the meeting were Vice President Iliana Iotova, US Ambassador to Bulgaria Kenneth Merten, as well as the young people Adelina Kaneva and Dimitar Marchev, who are President and Vice President for a day within the framework of the "Manager for a Day" initiative, which the presidential institution hosted today.

The President highlighted as particularly promising the expansion of the partnership with the US in the field of science, including space exploration, to which successful Bulgarian companies have also contributed. At the end of last year, our country joined the Artemis Agreement, which aims to support peaceful space exploration. The Head of State also expressed hope that, regardless of the military conflicts in the world, the global community would manage to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons in space.

The importance of space exploration for analysing many processes and phenomena on Earth was also discussed during the session, as was sustainable policy of investment in this activity. The Head of State gave the example of the project submitted by the presidential institution in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan for the establishment of the National Centre for Aerospace Observation, Control and Management, which will qualitatively improve the effectiveness of our country's public policy in areas such as combating air and soil pollution, monitoring river and dam levels, countering illegal logging, improving transport infrastructure, urbanisation processes and many others.

The sides agreed that this year's Sofia Science and Art Festival "Hey, Cosmos! Bulgaria Speaks" shows the growing interest among young Bulgarians in space exploration. The event was an occasion for the American astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria to visit our country.

The NASA Administrator presented President Rumen Radev with a collage of photos from the SpaceX Crew-8 flight in March this year, with the Bulgarian and American flags, travelling with the crew on board the spacecraft.