British government donates 40 Land Rovers to strengthen Bulgarian border control
Sarah Riley, Deputy Ambassador, visits the border at Malko Turnovo with Prime Minister Borissov to see the gifted UK Land Rovers being delivered.
Land Rovers are delivered to the Bulgarian border.
The UK gift of 40 Land Rover Defenders was delivered to the Bulgarian Border with Turkey on Sunday, 22 May 2016. Deputy UK Ambassador, Sarah Riley, accompanied the Bulgarian Prime Minister, Boyko Borissov, to see the gift being delivered.
The gift was agreed during Prime Minister Cameron’s visit to the border during his official visit to Bulgaria in December 2015. Mr. Cameron’s visit was the first by a sitting Prime Minister for 16 years. During his visit he inspected the Bulgarian border with Mr Borissov and filmed a short video explaining the importance of Bulgarian efforts to maintain its integrity. The Land Rovers will enable the Bulgarian Border Police to strengthen the control of the border and to increase patrols.
Ms Riley said:
This gift represents the depth of the friendship between the UK and Bulgaria. When the Prime Minister came here he was impressed by Bulgarian efforts to police their external border, this gift will further improve the capacity of Bulgaria’s Border Police to respond to the challenges they face.
The Land Rovers are valued at 1m BGN and are donated to the Bulgarian Border Police force. The Land Rovers are ex-Ministry of Defence vehicles that would normally be sold to private individuals.