site.btaForeign Minister Zaharieva, PM Borissov Address Bulgarian Ambassadors at Annual Conference

July 18 (BTA) - Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and
Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva opened the annual
conference of Bulgaria' ambassadors and permanent
representatives at Sofia's Central Military Club on Thursday.

Addressing the diplomats, the Deputy PM pointed out that they
befittingly represent Bulgaria and support the Bulgarian
communities abroad. She noted that the conference is taking
place on the date when the Bulgarian Diplomatic Service marks
its 140th anniversary.

Zaharieva noted the importance of preparations for the joint
presidency of the Berlin Process with North Macedonia. She
listed transport, digital and people-to-people connectivity,
reconciliation through education and the environment as
priorities of the presidency which Bulgaria is planning to set.

The Foreign Minister stressed the importance of cooperation with
 the countries of Asia and Africa. She called on the ambassadors
 to work more for the economy, for increased contacts of
Bulgarian business and for invigoration of tourism.

In a speech at the conference, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov
discussed the F-16 jet fighters purchase, North Macedonia, the
Sofia Airport Concession, Brexit, and the Bulgarian Presidency
of the EU Council (January-June 2018).

Borissov insisted that Bulgaria should pay for the F-16 fighters
 up front "because I'm sick and tired of paying, on three
occasions when we come to power, the debts incurred by previous
governments for the aircraft they had contracted". He commented
that all new aircraft that this country has procured so far are
only capable of "taking the headquarters on board and fly away:
only transport aircraft and helicopters, without a single rifle,
 not to say torpedo, worth hundreds of millions, over a billion,
 more than the price of the F-16s."

The goodneighbourliness treaty with North Macedonia has produced
 a good result for our neighbours, too, the PM commented.
"Without this treaty, North Macedonia could not have possibly
stepped on the way to NATO and the EU. It is a harrowing process
 for a country to change its name and to revise knowledge or a
reading of history in which the population has been
indoctrinated for decades, which is why we must firmly but also
tolerantly work for the final result: [accession to] NATO and
the EU," Borissov observed.

Regarding the Sofia Airport Concession, the PM said: "We were
attacked, we heard monstrous things, but we have learnt to be
patient because the truth will ultimately come to light, and the
 bid of Munich Airport was ranked first yesterday, having scored
 the most points," referring to the French-German consortium SOF
 Connect.

The head of government described Brexit as "an exceedingly
difficult and incomplete process." "I think we managed to
protect, under the circumstances, the Bulgarians who study and
work there and, respectively, also the British citizens who are
in Bulgaria," he said.

Borissov further said that the Bulgarian EU Council Presidency
was assessed as one of the best, handling some of the toughest
subjects, and made a long-lasting impact, especially with its
focus on the Western Balkans. "It was not by accident that the
[Western Balkans Summit] in Poznan decided to assign to Bulgaria
 and North Macedonia the joint presidency of the Berlin Process
in 2020," he recalled. The PM sees this as appreciation for the
diplomats' work during the EU Council Presidency and for the
foreign policy of goodneighbourliness pursued by Bulgaria.
"Everybody come to Bulgaria precisely because we are
peace-oriented," he pointed out. LI/LG

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