The Bulgarian contingent in Afghanistan is likely to be reinforced by 30 additional personnel at the beginning of 2010, which may be followed by a further deployment of 70 more personnel by the end of the year, Bulgarian Defence Minister Nikolai Mladenov was quoted as saying by the Bulgarian news agency (BTA) on December 18 2009.

Mladenov said these issues still needed to be discussed by the Bulgarian Cabinet.

Currently, Bulgaria has a 610-strong detachment in Afghanistan. Its main task is securing the airport of the southern Afghan town of Kandahar and military installations in the capital of Kabul. The southern city of Kandahar is a Taliban stronghold and terrorist attacks in the region are commonplace. This is where the Bulgarian forces have deployed a mechanised infantry battalion.

"We wish to find a solution whereby we can assist the effort in Afghanistan from here. One such solution would be for Afghan National Army (ANA) officers to be trained at the Novo Selo military base in Bulgaria, Mladenov said.

According to Mladenov, the details surrounding the exact capacity of future Bulgarian reinforcements in Afghanistan would be made available following a conference in London set for January 2010. Bulgaria was considering the option of sending a fully equipped field hospital, staffed with 20 to 30 medical staff.

Bulgaria's defence budget for 2010 amounts to 1.3 billion leva, of which 100 million leva has been earmarked for international deployments.

The London Conference, scheduled for January 28 2010, was to be hosted jointly by UK prime minister Gordon Brown and Afghanistan president Karzai, and co-chaired by the UK and Afghan foreign ministers, the UK government's Afghanistan web portal said. 

The meeting will aim to provide the international community with the opportunity to discuss the future of the beleaguered country for the next 12-16 months, with the international goal remaining a stable and secure Afghanistan.

The priority task of the conference would be to enable president Karzai to meet the ambitious agenda set out in his inauguration speech: increasing Afghan leadership on security issues, improving governance and reducing corruption, reintegration and reconciliation, improving economic and social development, and building closer regional relationships, the portal said.