The Minister of the Environment and Water Julian Popov was a guest at the ceremony welcoming the research vessel “St. St. Cyril and Methodius” (NIK 421) in Varna after the successful 34th Antarctic expedition.

“We just about to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” he emphasised in his address to those present. The Minister recalled that significant progress had been made in advancing the process, the package of documents on the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (is ready and is awaiting approval by the Council of Ministers, after which it will be sent to the National Assembly for ratification.

“The Convention concerns the management of those parts of the world’s oceans that lie beyond national jurisdictions, which is very important not only from a transport or military perspective, but also from a scientific point of view,” explained the Minister. He reminded that the seas are of enormous importance in the fight against climate change, so the way in which they are managed outside national jurisdiction is of paramount importance to everyone. The Convention sets out the conditions for establishing a Conference of the Parties, which will in future develop the rules and laws governing these waters, added Julian Popov.

In his address to the crew of the NIK 421, the Minister praised the ship’s mission as proof that Bulgaria can have a global presence through science and cooperation. He emphasised that the “St. St. Cyril and Methodius” is inextricably linked to science and expressed his conviction that, against the backdrop of the forthcoming ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, NIK 421, the “Nikola Vaptsarov” Naval Academy in Varna, and Bulgarian scientists will be engaged in a magnificent mission through which Bulgaria can take its rightful place in the exploration of the oceans beyond its jurisdiction.

Earlier in the day, Minister Julian Popov visited the “Nikola Vaptsarov” Naval Academy in Varna and met with the Academy’s Commandant, Rear Admiral Prof. Dr Kalin Kalinov, and his team. The meeting discussed technologies for monitoring the marine environment, the future development of marine sciences and the role of the Naval Academy, including the successful conduct of Antarctic expeditions.

Minister Popov and Deputy Minister Petar Dimitrov also attended the presentation of the report from the 34th Antarctic expedition by the ship’s captain, Captain I Rank Nikolay Danailov, to the hosts from the Naval Academy, participants and official guests, including the ambassadors of France and Ukraine to Bulgaria, Admiral Kalin Kalinov, Prof. Hristo Pimpirev, and the Director General of the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency Kiril Valchev.