site.btaPM Denkov, Slovenian President Pirc Musar Discuss EU Enlargement towards Western Balkans

The process of EU enlargement towards the Western Balkans was among the highlights of the meeting between Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov and Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar, the government press service said on Tuesday. 

"Our region has a huge potential for development if we work together," Denkov was adamant. He specified that Bulgaria supports EU enlargement, but for this purpose it is necessary that the candidate member states fulfil their commitments.

Denkov noted that the visit of the Slovenian head of State is a clear sign of the excellent bilateral dialogue and is a very good opportunity to intensify cooperation in all areas. "I am convinced that there is additional potential for partnership in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship," Denkov said. He added that the two countries should also work to increase tourism exchange.

"We already have good cooperation in the field of education and science, but I believe that more contacts between the relevant institutions will generate additional ideas to enrich the links between our citizens. Our efforts should be focused on supporting the mobility of students, postgraduates, and teachers through direct cooperation agreements between the higher education institutions of the two countries and the establishment of joint scientific and educational centres," the Prime Minister said.

Denkov briefed President Pirc Musar on the capabilities of the Bulgarian Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Technology INSAIT. The Prime Minister pointed out that the Bulgarian development BgGPT is the first open large artificial intelligence language model of the last generation, and it will be freely usable by Bulgarian public and private organisations.

Pirc Musar is visiting Bulgaria at the invitation of her Bulgarian counterpart Rumen Radev.