site.btaBulgarian Government Leader Meets with PM, President of Palestina

Bulgarian Government Leader Meets with PM, President of Palestina

Jerusalem, February 25 (BTA special correspondent Hristo Vodenov) - Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov visited Ramallah Wednesday and met with Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and President Mahmoud Abbas.

Borissov is on a two-day working visit to Israel since February 24.

Conferring with Rami Hamdallah, Borissov said, as quoted by his press office, that high-level visits have a positive effect on the traditionally good Bulgarian-Palestinian relations.

He hailed the signing of a memorandum for establishing a ministerial mixed commission.

Following the signing of the memorandum with his Palestinian counterpart Riyad al-Maliki, Bulgaria's top diplomat Daniel Mitov said that the establishment of this commission will help enhance cooperation in areas including the economy, trade, agriculture and home affairs, among others.

A protocol for conduct of political consultations was signed between the two Foreign Ministries.

The Prime Minister said that the two sides will work to further develop blateral relations. He believes that the 5,000 or more Palestinians who have studied in Bulgaria can be a bridge between the two countries.

Borissov noted that there is untapped potential for cooperation in trade and economy. The past couple of years saw a gradual increase of Bulgarian export, particularly in the food industry.

He stressed that Bulgaria has solid experience in a number of sectors including tourism and infrastructure, which can be of benefit for Palestine.

During his Ramallah meetings, Borissov said that Bulgaria supports all initiatives which can affect positively the Middle East peace process. He added that his country has friendly relations both with Israel and with Palestine, and believes that all disputes should be resolved through direct talks between the two sides.

Later on Wednesday, the Bulgarian Prime Minister met with representatives of the Bulgarian community in Jerusalem.

It transpired there that this community will nominate the Bulgarian Orthodox Church for the Nobel Peace Prize for its role in the rescue of some 50,000 Bulgarian Jews from deportation to the Nazi death camps during WWII.

In a speech at the meeting, Bulgarian Honorary Consul in Israel Moni Bar said that Bulgaria remains in their hearts because it rescued their mothers and fathers during World War Two.

He said that the Bulgarian community in Israel is influential, with representatives in the economy, culture and medicine. "These people are successful because Bulgaria have taught them honesty, humility and work hard," Bar said.

In his remarks at the meeting, Prime Minister Borissov said that Bulgaria is unique in working well with the Palestinian community while having friendly relations with Israel. "Israel is maybe the only country where Bulgaria is treated equally [well] across the political spectrum, Left, Right or others," he said.

He urged the Bulgarian community to open representations in Bulgaria because there are ample business opportunities in this country.

On Thursday, Borissov will be meeting his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu.