site.btaPresident Radev, Prime Minister Borissov, Foreign Minister Zaharieva Meet Serbian Foreign Minister Selakovic

January 20 (BTA) - During a meeting with Serbia's Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic who is on an official visit in Sofia, President Rumen Radev said that creating and maintaining all the necessary conditions with regard to the Bulgarian national minority in Serbia will also help the country's merited integration in United Europe.

President Radev expressed gratitude to his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic for meeting his commitments to the Bulgarian national minority during Radev's official visit to Serbia, related to the registration of women's names, the increased funding for media and the development of the region.

Minister Selakovic thanked for Bulgaria's support on Serbia's accession path to the EU, and pointed out that the two countries enjoy good economic cooperation. He added that it is necessary to find ways to increase bilateral trade, which amounted to 1.04 billion euro in 2019, and dropped to 870 million last year. As an example of economic cooperation, Selakovic pointed to the option to expand the Free Zone Pirot to include two additional areas populated predominantly by the Bulgarian national minority: Babushnitsa and Dimitrovgrad.

During his official visit, Serbia's Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic also had a meeting with Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, the government information service said on Wednesday.

Borissov said: "Relations between Bulgaria and Serbia have
always been friendly and pragmatic, and have become even more
dynamic amid the coronavirus pandemic." He recalled Bulgaria's
aid to Serbia in the form of reusable personal protective
equipment for health workers, provided at the start of the
pandemic.

Borissov also noted that the EU provided financial support to
the countries of the Western Balkans to meet their immediate
needs of medical equipment and for their social and economic
recovery.

The two officials discussed key projects of shared interest,
including the Europe Motorway and the Balkan Stream natural gas
pipeline, as well as the start of the construction of the
Bulgaria Serbia gas interconnector. It will enable Serbia to
receive liquefied natural gas from the Alexandroupolis terminal,
in which Bulgaria has a 20 per cent stake, said the government
information service.

Borissov stressed that despite the difficulties caused by the
pandemic, work is going on. "These projects are of exceptional
importance for connectivity and for infrastructure and energy
cooperation between Bulgaria and Serbia, as well as in the
region and Europe," he said, adding that regional cooperation in
all areas has been the cornerstone of peace, stability and
prosperity in the Western Balkans.

Bulgaria's support for Serbia's progress towards EU membership
was also noted during the meeting. "A country can progress only
on merit and on the basis of its achievements in meeting the
[accession] criteria," said the Prime Minister.

Borissov noted that Bulgaria had always helped and would
continue to support all of its neighbours in the name of the
social and economic prosperity of the peoples in the region.

Later in the day, Nikola Selakovic met with Bulgaria's Deputy
Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina
Zaharieva to discuss the Bulgaria-Serbia cooperation in
infrastructure projects, energy and tourism.

Zaharieva informed her counterpart that the last stretch of the
motorway connecting Sofia and Belgrade (i.e. from Sofia to the
border) will be completed by the end of the year. The two
diplomats agreed to focus the efforts of the relevant ministries
on opening a new border crossing checkpoint.

The Bulgarian Foreign Minister reiterated that Bulgaria has
always supported Serbia on its path to Europe, and her guest
said that Serbia is a country that sees its future within the
EU.

On the topic of the Bulgarian community in Serbia, Zaharieva
pointed out it represents a bridge and yet another incentive for
maintaining the good relations between the two countries. She
also commended Serbia's modern legislation with regard to
national minorities.

Selakovic informed that two of the border regions where the
Bulgarian national minority lives -- Babushnitsa and
Dimitrovgrad -- have undergone considerable development which
will create opportunities for investment and open new jobs for
the local residents.

Asked why Prime Minister Borissov was not invited to the opening
of the Balkan Stream gas pipeline, Selakovic said that foreign
guests have not been invited because of the pandemic.
RY,NV/DD,MT
/МТ/