site.btaMeetings of President Plevneliev at UN Headquarters in New York

Meetings of President Plevneliev at UN Headquarters in New York

New York, April 23 (BTA) - Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev held meetings at the UN headquarters in New York during his working visit to the United States, his press secretariat said Saturday. The head of State talked with UNESCO Secretary General and Bulgaria's nominee for UN Secretary-General Irina Bokova, as well as with leaders from around the world.

Commenting on his talks with the leaders, Plevneliev said he received praises for Bulgaria and Bokova's work as head of UNESCO. "This means that we have opened many doors in the most important international institution on the planet. Bulgaria has a good image and this is a precondition for us to be more ambitious and set ourselves higher goals," he said.

Plevneliev described the election of a new UN Secretary-General as the hardest battle to come. "The President and the Government are part of a nationally responsible effort. We will work consistently on the implementation of this cause," he noted.

Bokova expressed gratitude for the support and said it is an honour for each candidate to have his/her head of State on his/her side. "The support of the State is present and with the ideas for our work from here onwards, which we exchanged, we can achieve success," she said.

At a meeting with Senegal's President Macky Sall, the Bulgarian head of State said his country relies on Senegal's support for the election of Bokova as UN Secretary-General. The two president discussed the need of deepening the bilateral relations with a focus on trade and economic ties, education, science and culture, where Bulgaria and Senegal have long-standing traditions, including in student exchange. They also talked about wider cooperation in sectors such as infrastructure, pharmaceutics, agriculture and food production. Senegal is interested in Bulgaria's experience in planning and implementing projects in the water sector and water supply infrastructure. Bulgaria is ready to share its experience in the sphere of renewable energy sources, the press release reads.

Plevneliev and Sall expressed satisfaction with the good bilateral cooperation in relation to the Bulgarian support for Senegal's non-permanent membership in the UN Security Council in the 2016-2017 period. Also underscored was the excellent interaction between the two countries within the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), of which Bulgaria is an active member, the press release reads.

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Commenting on the signing of the Paris Agreement on climate change in New York, President Plevneliev said, as quoted by his press secretariat: "Four years ago, we changed entirely the priorities in the Bulgarian energy sector from a 'grand slam' to three sensible priorities: energy efficiency, diversification and liberalization. With the signing of the Paris Agreement, the entire world acknowledged the same priorities and voiced support for a sustainable development in the name of people, of our children and grandchildren."