Today, the Minister of Environment and Water Julian Popov and the Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine Ruslan Strilets signed a Memorandum of Cooperation between the two institutions in the field of environmental protection.

Bulgaria and Ukraine will join efforts to develop environmentally friendly technologies. The experts in the two ministries will work jointly in the fields of sustainable water management and flood protection, waste management, air quality, as well as in nature conservation and biodiversity protection. The memorandum of cooperation also foresees joint actions in the fields of geology and minerals, chemical management, rehabilitation of contaminated sites, and prevention of industrial pollution.

Today, during an event at the Ukrainian Pavilion at COP28, Minister Julian Popov expressed that Bulgaria supports and joins the International Declaration on the Environment (the Kiev Declaration on the Environment). The draft Kiev Declaration guides efforts towards developing an international mechanism for calculation of the environmental damage from wars in fulfillment of the tasks in Pillar 8 "Environmental Security" - one of the ten pillars of President Volodymyr Zelensky's "Formula for Peace" initiative.

The event, hosted by Ruslan Strilets, was attended by Minister Julian Popov, as well as the environment ministers of Slovenia, Finland, New Zealand, Sweden, Lithuania, and others.

Countries that have joined the declaration support Ukraine's sovereignty, condemn Russian aggression and encourage the establishment of a compensation mechanism for transborder environmental impact. The declaration highlights the need to demilitarize the nuclear power plant and calls for global cooperation in assessing and preventing environmental damage.