site.btaBulgarian Ambassador to Greece in ANA-MPA Interview: Our Countries Can Become Major Energy, Transport Hub of Pan-European Magnitude

In an interview for Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA) published on Sunday, Bulgarian Ambassador to Greece Valentin Poriazov said that the strategic partnership between the two countries constitutes a pillar of stability and promotion of EU values for the whole region. He expressed certainty that Bulgaria and Greece can become a major energy and transport hub of pan-European magnitude.

The Ambassador also told journalist Dimitris Manolis that the strategic bilateral cooperation in several sectors, such as energy, transport, communications, trade and technology, is necessary for the economic prosperity of the two countries as well as for the geopolitical stability of the entire region. 

Poriazov talked about the Sea2Sea project and the Alexandroupolis Floating Storage and Regasification Unit as pivotal for the energy security of Greece and Bulgaria and of long-term positive consequence for the wider region.

The Ambassador also talked about bilateral trade and business cooperation, noting that Greek business presence in Bulgaria has long-lasting traditions based on sustainable investment opportunities. In 2022, the bilatera trade reached EUR 6 billion, he said.

In his words, Bulgaria and Greece, being most knowledgeable of the region, can work together to help strike the right balance between the expectations for an accelerated EU integration of the Western Balkan countries and the necessity for candidates to meet the criteria and demonstrate their own merits.

Poriazov underscored Bulgaria's support for Ukraine, and noted that once the war ends, that country's reconstruction creates cooperation opportunities, for example in the preservation of the cultural heritage of Bulgarian and Greek communities there. Also, the trilateral cooperation between Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania on the North-South Corridor is of crucial importance.

Commenting on the new EU Pact on Immigration and Asylum, he said that as EU external border countries, Bulgaria and Greece bear a significant but also disproportionate burden in terms of migration and border protection. The new Pact strikes the right balance between responsibility, flexibility and above all solidarity, he argued. 

The full text of the interview can be found here.