site.btaPresident Radev: Governments Must Fight Corruption to Protect Democracy

In his key remarks at the third Summit for Democracy hosted by Seoul between March 18 and 20, President Rumen Radev said on Wednesday that fighting corruption is the fundamental commitment that every government should make to protect democracy, the Presidency press service reported. At the forum under the theme Democracy for Future Generations, Radev pointed out that national anti-corruption policies are an important guarantee for national security, stability and sovereignty.

At the invitation of the President of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol, Radev joined the Summit via videoconference in a plenary panel of leaders at the level of heads of state and government.

The head of State said that democracy cannot be defended, if societies are not convinced that it is the only form of government that serves the people. The President said that in 2023, Bulgaria undertook legislative changes to strengthen the independence of the judiciary and the accountability of the prosecution service in line with its national commitments.

Radev also spoke in a plenary panel on the topic of technology, elections and disinformation, which saw participation by the presidents of Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Botswana, Gambia, as well as the prime ministers of Japan and Canada. The President said that the development of modern information and communication technologies is expanding the potential of economies, but also poses threats to democracies, especially in the current context of multiple geopolitical challenges and destabilization of the international order. He added that in order to make the public more resilient to misinformation, their trust in democratic institutions should be increased, while digital literacy and social inclusion of vulnerable groups should be promoted.

Radev concluded that to strengthen democracy, a comprehensive strategy should be implemented to overcome poverty and social exclusion, to raise the educational level of vulnerable social groups and improve the quality of education.