site.btaBulgarian Parliament Leader Karayancheva Meets US House of Representative Speaker Ryan, Raises Question of US Visa Requirements

Washington, D.C./Sofia, April 18 (BTA) - Bulgarian Parliament leader Tsveta Karayancheva held a meeting with US House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan on Tuesday and told him that it is a priority for Bulgaria to be included in the US visa waiver programme, said Parliament's press office on Wednesday. She said that the Bulgarian legislature is determined to work to see this happen and relies on the support of the US Congress.

"It will be in line with the strategic partnership between our two countries and with the Bulgarian contribution in the common defence and counter-terrorism efforts," said Karayancheva.

The opportunities for stepping up parliamentary cooperation and attracting more US investment in Bulgaria were also discussed.

Karayancheva pointed out that last year's visit to Bulgaria by a Congress delegation has helped intensify parliamentary exchange between the two countries.

She said that attracting US investment is among the key priorities in the efforts to step up bilateral cooperation in the economy, technologies and e-services. As areas of significant potential she singled out information and communication technologies, outsourcing of business processes, machine building, electrical engineering and electronics.