site.btaSofia Welcomes Washington's USD 300 Mln Investmentin Three Seas Initiative

December 11 (BTA) - Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva on Friday welcomed a decision by the Board of Directors of the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to contribute 300 million dollars to the Three Seas Initiative Investment Fund. The DFC Board meeting was chaired by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is a Board member.

The Three Seas Initiative is a forum of 12 EU member states in Central and Eastern Europe (including Bulgaria) for promoting regional dialogue on various matters. The focus is on the development of infrastructure in the energy, transport and digital sectors.

In a press release on Thursday, DFC said its 300 million dollar investment in the Three Seas Initiative Investment Fund aims to help Central and Eastern European countries bolster their energy security.

Foreign Minister Zaharieva recalled in a Facebook post that in September Bulgaria vowed to invest 20 million euro in the Fund. Sofia will host the Three Seas Initiative in 2021.

Zaharieva noted that Bulgaria has proposed a number of projects to be supported by the Fund: an extension to the Chiren natural gas storage facility, rehabilitation of the Rousse-Varna railway, building a tunnel under the Petrohan Pass in the Balkan Range, and building the Black Sea Motorway to link the country's two biggest coastal cities, Varna and Bourgas.

Speaking at question time in the National Assembly earlier on Friday, Zaharieva said that Bulgaria's participation in the Three Seas Initiative "serves our national interests and we can derive concrete benefits by participating in it." According to her, the Initiative has an important Transatlantic dimension manifested in considerable support by the United States.

Although the Three Seas Initiative is a presidential-level platform, the lead role is played by the governments, because it is all about major infrastructure projects, Zaharieva told the National Assembly. Her remark was prompted by recent tension between the Bulgarian government and President Rumen Radev over their part in the Initiative. RY/VE
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