A visitor views assault rifles made in Bulgaria at the 13th International Defence Equipment Exhibition "Hemus 2018" in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, May 30, 2018. The 13th International Defence Equipment Exhibition "Hemus 2018" opened on Wednesday in Plovdiv, the second largest city of Bulgaria. (Xinhua/Zhan Xiaoyi)

SOFIA, May 30 (Xinhua) -- The 13th International Defence Equipment Exhibition "Hemus 2018" opened on Wednesday in Plovdiv, the second largest city of Bulgaria.

Rumen Radev, President of Bulgaria, said at the opening ceremony that the exhibition, which drew 69 exhibitors from 17 countries, once again showed that the Bulgarian defence industry was not only a high-tech sector offering products with high added value, but also a competitive sector on a global scale.

He said cooperation between the business, education and science sectors was a sure guarantee for Bulgaria's efforts to fully participate in the European Defence Fund, and the integration of European defence industry and science.

Krasimir Karakachanov, deputy prime minister and defense minister of Bulgaria, also addressed the participants. The exhibition's 13th edition happens at a symbolic time for Bulgarian defence, he said, noting that the projects for modernizing the Bulgarian Army and Air Force have already been put to the vote, while the one for the Navy is expected to be ready within a couple of weeks.

The infantry fighting vehicles made in France, the surface-to-air missiles made in Lithuania, the assault rifles made in Italy, as well as the unmanned aerial vehicles of DJI made in China, were displayed in the exhibition which would last four days.