site.btaMacedonian Legislators Visit Bulgaria after 11-Year Break

Sofia, March 21 (BTA) - A delegation of Macedonian parliamentarians is visiting Bulgaria Wednesday after a 11-year break. It includes members of the Macedonia-Bulgaria Friendship Group and is led by Frosina Tasevska-Remenski, Vice President of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia. The guests met with MPs of the Bulgaria-Macedonia Friendship in the Bulgarian Parliament.

Welcoming the guests, the Chair of the Bulgaria-Macedonia Friendship Group, Boris Vangelov (United Patriots), said Macedonia is in the hearts of all members of his Friendship Group. He said one in five Bulgarian deputies is in this group.

He said that after the signing of the Good-Neighbourliness Treaty between Bulgaria and Macedonia relations between the two countries started a new chapter.

Vangelov dwelled on the need to build bilateral infrastructure projects and Corridor VIII, open new border crossings, build a railway and roads, and enhance trade between the Black Sea and the Adriatic Sea.

He noted that cooperation between the two Academies of Sciences has made progress and that cooperation in defence is at an advanced stage.

Frosina Tasevska-Remenski thanked for the warm welcome. She said that her country has commenced serious processes which used to be a taboo once. "Our strategic goal is membership of the EU and NATO, and of other organizations where Bulgaria is a member, and we believe that only cooperation and assistance is true friendship," she said.

She also said that the historic debates should not be an obstacle for debating the common future.

Tasevska-Remenski argued that the two countries have a lot of shared history and it should not divide them: they should learn a lesson, correct the errors and build the bridges of cooperation that people expect.

She expressed hope that during the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2018 her country will receive an invitation to EU membership negotiations.

The Macedonian deputies invited the members of the Bulgaria-Macedonia Friendship Group to visit Skopje.

At a meeting of the guests with the Chair of the Bulgarian National Assembly, Tsveta Karayancheva, the two sides concurred that all opportunities should be used for deepening cooperation.

Karayancheva said that the signing and satisfaction of the Good-neighbourliness Treaty opens up many doors for enhancing bilateral relations in a variety of fields.

She said that the Bulgarian Parliament is ready to share its experience and help its Macedonian colleagues with the steps they are about to make on the road to membership of the EU and NATO.

Karayancheva pointed out that parliamentary dialogue and exchange of opinions among the friendship groups in the two Parliaments are of key importance in the Euro-integration process.