site.btaBulgaria-Macedonia Friendship Treaty Becomes Effective

Sofia, February 14 (BTA) - The Treaty of Friendship, Good-neighbourliness and Cooperation between Bulgaria and Macedonia entered into force on Wednesday as the two countries exchanged their respective ratification papers at a ceremony in Sofia. The exchange protocol was signed by Foreign Ministers Ekaterina Zaharieva of Bulgaria and Nikola Dimitrov of Macedonia.

The Treaty was signed on August 1, 2017 by Prime Ministers Boyko Borissov and Zoran Zaev and ratified by the two parliaments early in 2018.

After Wednesday's ceremony, Borissov thanked the two parliaments for ratifying the Treaty, but added that much practical work lies ahead. He said Bulgaria and Macedonia need to prepare every phase of European Transport Corridors 4, 8 and 10 and report about that to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who will be in Sofia shortly. "We also need to brief the Council of the EU about these projects in a timely fashion," the Bulgarian Prime Minister added.

He noted that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank and the World Bank are all interested in these projects. "We should make it clear what we actually want to build: roads, railways, digital infrastructure. Fortunately, there is money. As we do the digging, we should lay optical fibre cables as well," Borissov said.

He expressed hope that Macedonia and Greece will settle their name dispute - "and then, in a matter of months, things will take a very positive turn."

Foreign Minister Zaharieva said that since the Treaty was signed last August, Bulgaria's trade with Macedonia has increased by 11 per cent and bilateral tourist exchange has risen by 10 per cent. Zaharieva said: "There is work to do about setting up an inter-agency commission between our countries. I am convinced that our good-neighbourly relations will progress irreversibly. We have shown that we can solve problems in the Balkans on our own."

Dimitrov said this is a very important day for the two nations. The transport ministers of Bulgaria, Macedonia and Albania will meet on Thursday to discuss the development of road and railway infrastructure, the Macedonian Foreign Minister noted. He added: "We share many interests in common. I am glad that the signing [of the protocol] took place during the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU. We can now move forward with our heads raised high and show that what we have done over the course of a few months means that the Balkans are Europe. I hope this positive energy will inspire other countries too."