site.btaSofia, Belgrade Agree on Speedier Construction of Road, Natgas Projects

Sofia, Belgrade Agree on Speedier Construction of Road, Natgas Projects

Belgrade, June 2 (BTA) - At the Second Session of the Joint
Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation, which
ended in Belgrade on Tuesday, Bulgaria and Serbia agreed to
accelerate construction of their major joint infrastructure
projects, the Bulgarian Economy Ministry said in a press
release. The Commission's Co-chairmen: Economy Minister Bozhidar
Loukarski of Bulgaria and Energy and Mining Minister Aleksandar
Antic of Serbia, signed a Protocol on Cooperation in seven
priority economic areas.

The sides agreed on speeding up work on Pan-European Transport
Corridor X
(Salzburg-Ljubljana-Zagreb-Belgrade-Nis-Sofia-Plovdiv-Istanbul),
which includes building an express road link and
electrification and modernization of the Nis-Sofia railway.
Faster progress will also be sought for the construction of a
gas interconnector between the two countries. A protocol on
energy cooperation will be drafted and ready for signature
presently.

"Financing of the Bulgarian sector of the interconnector has
been provided under Operational Programme Innovations and
Competitiveness 2014-2020, and the design and land expropriation
have been completed, and we are thus ready to start
construction," Loukarski said.

In their economic relations, the two countries will prioritize
investment promotion and the establishment of joint ventures to
trade on the markets for which Serbia has duty-free trade
agreements, such as Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Turkey. The
Serbia Investment and Export Promotion Agency will sign an
Investment Promotion Protocol with the InvestBulgaria Agency and
the Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency.

In tourism, the sides agreed on a joint product entitled "The
Road of Roman Emperors". A Memorandum of Cooperation will be
concluded shortly.

The hosts pointed out that the tourist flow from Bulgaria to
Serbia increased 80 per cent in the first quarter of 2015, year
on year, Bulgarian tourists being the most numerous visitors to
Serbia during that period.

The participants in the session also agreed on cooperation in
agriculture and on participation in joint cross-border
cooperation projects worth 28 million euro.

Earlier in the day, Loukarski and Antic opened a
Bulgarian-Serbian business forum in Belgrade, attended by over
80 companies from the two countries.

Also on Tuesday, conferring with Serbian Economy Minister Zeljko
Sertic, Loukarski said that Bulgarian companies are showing
interest in privatization in Serbia. The guest called on Serbian
enterprises to share in joint projects with Bulgarian small and
medium-sized enterprises for entry in third markets and
participation in fairs and exhibitions. He pointed out that
joint ventures are eligible to apply for EU financing in
Bulgaria.