site.btaBulgaria and Armenia Will Focus on Increasing Connectivity

Yerevan, October 28 (BTA) - Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva and her Armenian counterpart Zohrab Mnatsakanyan have agreed to work for greater bilateral cohesion, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release. This is Zaharieva's first visit to Armenia.

During her talks with Mnatsakanyan, Zaharieva expressed her hope that this visit will have a positive effect on tourism development. "We also need to focus on connectivity, there are no direct flights between our countries," she added.

"Direct flights should be our absolute priority in connectivity, we will encourage our companies to work in this direction," the Armenian Foreign Minister said.

Both ministers agreed that the lack of open political issues between the two countries and the centuries-old historical ties are a good basis for developing relations further. Furthermore, there are about 10,800 Bulgarian citizens of Armenian origin, who according to Zaharieva are a natural bridge and a living link between the two countries.

Zaharieva noted the low trade between the two countries, which in 2018 amounts to 27.3 million dollars. In January-June of 2019, trade totaled 19.5 million dollars, with exports growing 53 per cent compared to 2018.

"We have an increase in exports for the first 6 months, but overall trade is not too much. I am convinced that the reason for this is the poor connectivity. We need to focus more on transport projects and connections through the Black Sea corridor," said Ekaterina Zaharieva. She argued that Armenia could take advantage of Bulgaria's strategic location and use our country to enter the European Union, which is also Armenia's largest trading partner.

Minister Mnatsakanyan confirmed Armenia's interest in developing more active economic relations with Bulgaria. The two politicians outlined areas of common interest in the economy such as tourism, software and high technology, mechanical engineering, food industry, pharmaceuticals.
The Armenian Foreign Minister stressed that the European Union is the biggest supporter of the reforms in Armenia and thanked Ekaterina Zaharieva for the help that our country provides for relations with the EU.

Bulgaria is one of the first Member States to ratify the EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement, supports the visa dialogue between Armenia and the EU, as well as cooperation within the framework of the Eastern Partnership. Over the last three years, Bulgaria has allocated more than 700,000 leva (350,000 euro) for 9 projects in Armenia and one more for Armenia and Georgia.

Two intergovernmental agreements were signed during the negotiations. Ekaterina Zaharieva and Zohrab Mnatsakanyan signed a intergovernmental protocol for the implementation of the Readmission Agreement between the European Union and Armenia, which is important for launching Armenia's negotiations with the EU on visa liberalization. Armenia's Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Suren Papikyan and Zaharieva signed an intergovernmental agreement on international transport and road transport. The document provides the basis for intensifying cooperation in the field of transport, and it is expected to contribute to increasing the volume of transport. DS/DT