site.btaCzech Foreign Minister Petricek Discusses Bilateral Cooperation with Bulgarian Statespersons

November 5 (BTA) - During his visit to Bulgaria on Tuesday, Czech Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek discussed bilateral cooperation with his Bulgarian counterpart Ekaterina Zaharieva, with President Rumen Radev, and with Prime Minister Boyko Borissov. Petricek was accompanied by a business delegation.

At their meeting, Petricek and Zaharieva talked about the opportunities for an even better economic cooperation between Bulgaria and the Czech Republic. They also discussed the topic of the Western Balkans, migration, and closer cooperation and coordination on EU matters in view of Brexit.

At a joint news conference after the meeting, the Bulgarian Foreign Minister said that two-way trade tripled in the last ten years and grew by 15 per cent in January-June 2019 year-on-year. "We see more opportunities in this sphere, we talked about how good it is for the Czech and the Bulgarian businesses to join efforts in investments in new markets, for example in Africa," Zaharieva noted. "We want to see more joint projects in the area of high technologies, IT, the automotive and the defence industry," she added.

Petricek said that in addition to their excellent political relations, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic have very good economic cooperation. Czech companies in Bulgaria are among the main investors in telecommunications and tourism, he said.

The two foreign ministers said that there are no open issues between Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, and they noted the deep historical and cultural ties between the two countries.

Zaharieva recalled that around 15,000 Bulgarians live in the Czech Republic, and the latter supports them in preserving the Bulgarian language, spirit and traditions.

At their meeting, President Radev and the Czech Foreign Minister agreed that their countries will deepen their cooperation in upholding joint positions on matters on the EU agenda that both Bulgaria and the Czech Republic consider important, the head of State's press secretariat reported. Such matters include the rapprochement between Western and Eastern Europe, the overcoming of double standards in the EU, and the active participation of all countries in the adoption of decisions on Europe's future, it transpired at the meeting.

Petricek assured Radev that the Czech Republic supports Bulgaria's efforts for full European integration: entry in the Schengen area and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, as well as lifting of the European Commission's Cooperation and Verification Mechanism.

The Bulgarian head of State and his guest agreed that the European perspective of the Western Balkan countries is of exceptional importance for the region's stability and security.

Radev and Petricek also discussed the opportunities for strengthening the economic contacts and trade cooperation between their countries. They talked about the opportunities for joint projects in the automotive and the defence industry, as well as for strengthening the partnerships in ICT and food production.

Prime Minister Borissov and the Czech Foreign Minister discussed the good cooperation between their countries, underscoring the potential to boost bilateral relations in the area of trade and economy, the Government Information Service reported.

Talks focused on expanding partnership in areas such as investment, tourism, ICT, food processing industry, green investments and in medium to high value added industries and services.

During the meeting Borissov noted the good macroeconomic and financial indicators of Bulgaria.

The Prime Minister highlighted Bulgaria's efforts to protect the EU's external borders. "Bulgaria is a country with zero migration thanks to the measures that we have taken in compliance with European rules," added Borissov. He underscored that the agreement between the EU and Turkey is working perfectly, allowing Bulgaria to protect the EU borders and ensures peace in Europe. He added that the Czech Republic is an important partner of Bulgaria in the EU and a NATO ally.