US President Barack Obama has sent special thanks to Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov for Bulgaria's military mission in Afghanistan, US Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus said in Sofia.

Mabus was received Thursday by Borisov and Bulgarian Defense Minister Anyu Angelov, the government press service announced.

The US Secretary of the Navy also noted Bulgaria's participation in NATO's United Protector Mission off the Libyan coast during the civil war in Libya where Bulgaria took part with the Drazki frigate patrolling in the Mediterranean.

According to Mabus, the Bulgarian armed forces have demonstrated their high capabilities during the missions in Afghanistan, where some 600 Bulgarian troops are still serving within the ISAF, and off the Libyan coast.

Afghanistan is at a decisive junction in its history and it is extremely important for the Allies to help improve the situation there including with respect to the training of the Afghan security forces that are supposed to take over from ISAF, the US Secretary of the Navy pointed out in Sofia.

"The high-level meetings between Bulgaria and the USA underscore the importance of our relations," Mabus commented with respect to last year's visit in Sofia of then CIA head and current Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, the recent visit in Bulgaria by Secret Service head Marc Sullivan, and the talks that Bulgaria's Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov had in the USA recently.

Bulgaria's Defense Minister Angelov and the US Navy Secretary have praised the effects of the joint military drills of the Bulgarian and US armed forces.