site.btaPresident Radev, Swiss President Leuthard Discuss Continuation of Bulgarian-Swiss Cooperation Programme

Sofia, November 2 (BTA) - Speaking at a joint news conference with Swiss President Doris Leuthard, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said they discussed the prospects for continuing the Bulgarian-Swiss Cooperation Programme after 2019 when the current one ends. "We are confident that this programme should continue because it is not just a source of financing but offers us a different model of organization of Bulgarian society in important areas of life," he said.

Leuthard is on an official visit here, the second by a Swiss President in the history of bilateral relations since the first visit in 2003.

Radev and Leuthard discussed various matters, bilateral as well as regional, European and global. The Bulgarian President noted with satisfaction the increasingly vigorous bilateral economic contacts.

In 2016, two-way trade totalled 260 million euro. Switzerland is the ninth largest investor in Bulgaria with over 1,800 million euro invested in 20 years. "We discussed ways to expand this cooperation, especially in investments, the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, and information technology," said Radev.

He expressed satisfaction with what he called "the particularly effective" Bulgarian-Swiss Cooperation Programme, which has included many areas in recent years, such as the judicial reform, the rule of law, security, the environment and, what is very important, education. The Swiss Cooperation Project DOMINO (the Bulgarian acronym for "Dual Education for the Modern Requirements and Needs of Society") has launched a really new approach to dual education in Bulgaria, setting an example of how to coordinate the education of young people and the interests of the business community, Radev said.

The Swiss President's visit is taking place at a very important moment for Bulgaria, which assumes the EU Council Presidency in January 2018. It should coordinate in the best possible way the efforts of the EU institutions to preserve unity and increase the citizens' trust in them, said Radev. He added that Bulgaria is sending clear messages about competitiveness, consensus and especially the future cohesion policy. "We thank Switzerland which continues providing cohesion support, although it is not an EU member," he said. He also singled out the Western Balkans as a very important priority.

The two heads of State discussed important matters on the European agenda, including security, the migrant crisis and the importance for Bulgaria to join the Schengen area because, as Radev said, this is the way to contribute to the common European security, the control and protection of the EU's external borders. Radev said: "In this respect we feel Switzerland's solid support." He expressed a hope that given this view and influence on the matter, Bulgaria would soon join the Schengen area. He added: "We highly appreciate Switzerland's efforts to enhance security in Europe through its participation in various missions."