site.btaPresident Radev Meets with UNHCR Representative Kuzucu

Head of State Rumen Radev held a meeting at the presidential institution with Seda Kuzucu, the representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Bulgaria, Radev's press service said on Tuesday.

The big challenge facing the international community is to focus on resolving the armed conflicts leading to massive violations of human rights and generating waves of refugees, the President said.

As a country that also forms the EU's external borders, Bulgaria is responsible for guaranteeing Europe's security. Along with this, Bulgaria will continue to strengthen its capacity to deal with refugees and speed up procedures for determining their status, Radev said. He underlined that Bulgaria highly appreciates the support of the UNHCR in enhancing the effectiveness of the work of state and local institutions.

Seda Kuzucu highlighted the good cooperation in the work of UNHCR with the presidential administration as well as with other institutions in the country. The meeting also highlighted the need to increase the number of interpreters to facilitate communication with refugees seeking asylum from military conflicts and to speed up administrative procedures.

The support provided by Bulgaria to people seeking refuge from the military conflict in Ukraine was also among the topics discussed during the meeting. Radev highlighted the humanitarian assistance provided by Bulgaria to the refugees from Ukraine, as well as the opportunities provided for their full integration, for which full access to education and the labour market are prerequisites. The data shows that at the moment nearly 70,000 Ukrainian refugees are registered in Bulgaria and a significant number of them have expressed their wish to stay here.

The President also pointed out that it is important to distinguish between the issues of illegal migration to the EU and people seeking refuge from military conflicts, which is increasingly becoming a topic of heated debate in the EU.