site.btaForeign Minister Mitov, Canadian Ambassador Hamilton Discuss CETA, Visas

Foreign Minister Mitov, Canadian Ambassador Hamilton Discuss CETA, Visas

Sofia, October 20 (BTA) - Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov Thursday received the newly appointed Canadian Ambassador Kevin Hamilton, based in Bucharest, the Foreign Ministry said.

The two discussed bilateral economic cooperation, the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and visa-free travel.

Mitov stressed the priority importance of deepening economic cooperation through trade and attracting investments in many areas of shared interest. "Bulgaria appreciates CETA's role in this context, but first and foremost, we expect clear guarantees for visa-free travel for the Bulgarians so they can benefit from the full potential of the agreement." Only such an approach would ensure an equal playing field for Bulgarian economic entities.

Mitov hailed the stated readiness of the Canadian government to waive visas for Bulgarians in 2017, but emphasized the need to specify the parameters and to reaffirm this position as appropriate before CETA is signed. He suggested to Ambassador Hamilton specific forms of officializing the Canadian position.

For his part, Ambassador Hamilton expressed a readiness to coordinate the joint efforts on the matter.

The sides also discussed aspects of bilateral partnership in security and defence in NATO, as well as cooperation in other international organizations.

Deciding its position for an upcoming European Council in Brussels, the Bulgarian government said Wednesday that it will only sign CETA in exchange for irreversible guarantees from the Canadian government that travel visas will be scrapped for all Bulgarian citizens.

President Rosen Plevneliev tweeted Wednesday that he hopes the EU will rally around supporting CETA.