SOFIA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The recent wave of rearmament in Europe presents new opportunities for boosting Bulgaria's defense industry, speakers of the Sofia Security Conference said Friday.

Held for the first time in the Bulgarian capital, the one-day event brought together politicians, officials of the Bulgarian Defense Ministry, and representatives of the country's defense industry.

Organized at Sofia Tech Park by Andrey Novakov, a Bulgarian member of the European Parliament (EP), the conference also held an exhibition of Bulgarian-made armored vehicles, drones, and anti-drone systems.

"We have companies in Bulgaria that can (contribute) to Europe's defense," said Novakov, who is a member of the EP's Committee on Security and Defense.

Bulgaria's defense industry employs about 100,000 people and in 2023, the country exported defense products worth over 4.2 billion Bulgarian lev (BGN) (2.32 billion U.S. dollars), according to Novakov.

"Europe has finally started to emerge from the role of Sleeping Beauty ... while events are happening in the world," Novakov said.

Europe has realized that it has to take care of itself and for the first time in the EU's history, funding has been earmarked for the rearmament and defense of the continent, he said.

This presents a historic chance for Bulgaria to boost its defense industry and be at the forefront of these new trends, Novakov said.

Bulgaria's Deputy Defense Minister Radostin Iliev said his ministry supported the full involvement of the country's defense industry in Europe's rearmament, and it made targeted efforts to raise the awareness of the sector about the opportunities in Bulgaria and at the EU level.

Hristo Gadzhev, a member of the Bulgarian Parliament and chairperson of its Committee on Defense, said it was important to position Bulgarian defense products as a quality benchmark in Europe. (1 BGN = 0.55 U.S. dollar) ■