President Georgi Parvanov opened Wednesday the first robotized gynaecology clinic in Southeast Europe in the city of Pleven in northern Bulgaria. The surgeries in the Pleven clinic are carried out using the four-armed robot Da Vinci.

"The incorporation of this advanced technology gives Bulgaria a leading role in the field of medicine", President Parvanov said at the opening. In his words, the new equipment with the Da Vinci robot was a supreme achievement and a real revolution in the development of the mini-invasive surgery. According to the President, the opening of the new clinic was an example of the perfect cooperation between the academic community and the state institutions.

Parvanov also stressed the new clinic was a matter of national pride as not only Bulgarian but also foreign specialists would be trained in the Pleven medical center.