site.btaBulgarian PM Borissov: Rendering Aid in Humanitarian Crises Cannot Substitute Political Decisions

Bulgarian PM Borissov: Rendering Aid in Humanitarian Crises Cannot Substitute Political Decisions

Istanbul/Sofia, May 23 (BTA) - In a speech at the World Humanitarian Summit 2016 taking place in Istanbul, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said, as quoted by the government's information service, that in the past years the world has been faced with unprecedented humanitarian crises and disasters in terms of number, scale and duration. Borissov said that as the humanitarian needs grow, the effective use of resources for humanitarian activities assumes critical importance but rendering aid cannot substitute the political decisions.

Borissov confirmed Bulgaria's commitment to the efforts at the global and regional level aimed at preventing and resolving the existing conflicts and creating conditions so as not to allow their resumption. Borissov said that as a country currently holding the Chairmanship-in-Office of the South-East European Cooperation Process, Bulgaria has come up with concrete initiatives to strengthen the security, stability and sustainable development of the region. The Bulgarian PM said that Bulgaria has fulfilled the commitments assumed during the international conference Supporting Syria and the Region held in February in London.

Borissov praised the report of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and pledged a political commitment for achieving considerable progress in respect of the five core commitments of the Agenda for Humanity. The Bulgarian PM said that Bulgaria will continue to take part in the EU effort to aid those most in need of help. "We will strive to increase the financial contribution to the humanitarian organizations under the umbrella of the UN and to the mechanisms and instruments of the EU," Borissov said. He said that Bulgaria joins the declaration of a group of UN member states to uphold the standards of the international humanitarian law and insist on their strict and unconditional implementation.