site.btaBulgarian President Radev Opens Visit to Lebanon

April 9 (BTA special correspondent Lora Metanova) -
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev arrived here on Tuesday on an
official two-day visit at the invitation of Lebanese President
Michel Aoun. The guest and his wife Desislava Radeva were
welcomed by a formal ceremony at the Presidential Palace in
Beirut.

At a one-to-one session, the two heads of State shared the
conviction that Bulgaria and Lebanon have a great potential for
cooperation.

"Bulgaria can serve as Lebanon's gateway to the EU, just as
Lebanon can be Bulgaria's gateway to the Middle East region,"
Radev said at a joint news conference with his host.

"We should not rely on trade alone, but also on reciprocal
investments and joint production," the Bulgarian President
pointed out. He noted that the Lebanese investments in Bulgaria
have proved effective. "Bulgaria can be very useful in a number
of infrastructure projects that will be implemented in Lebanon
shortly: in construction, hydraulic engineering and the power
industry," Radev added.

The sides also considered the possibility of launching a direct
air service between the two countries.

"We will continue to work for closer transport connectivity,"
the Bulgarian head of State said. He will shortly invite the
Lebanese Ambassador in Sofia and executives of Bulgarian air
carriers to a discussion of the options for starting such an
operation. Direct air services link Lebanon with Greece, Serbia
and Romania. "Bulgaria stands to lose from the absence of a
direct air link, and many tourists go to these neighbouring
countries," he argued.

The refugee crisis was also on the agenda of Tuesday's talks.
"Lebanon is the country with the world's largest per capita
number of refugees, which puts the social system and the
healthcare system under enormous strain," Radev pointed out. He
stressed that in the EU Bulgaria is actively contributing to the
 provision of appropriate financial assistance and support to
Lebanon. "Bulgaria insists that Europe assume a deeper
commitment to the problems in the regions, to the problems of
the refugees' countries of origin and transit countries," the
guest observed.

President Aoun said that the two had discussed the issue of the
Syrian refugees and he had familiarized the Bulgarian President
with the difficulties that Lebanon is experiencing with the
presence of such a large number of refugees, which compounds the
 chronic problem with the Palestinian refugees. "The
amelioration of the fate of Syrian refugees and of the countries
 which shelter them is a common responsibility of the world,"
the Lebanese head of State argued. IG/LG