site.btaBorissov at 3rd Thessaloniki Summit: "Our Connectivity Is Geostrategic"

107 POLITICS - MEETING - THESSALONIKI - BORISSOV

Borissov at 3rd Thessaloniki Summit:
"Our Connectivity Is
Geostrategic"


Sofia, November 16 (BTA) - Addressing the 3rd Thessaloniki Summit on Thursday, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said: "There is no better place than the EU. When Greece was going through a crisis, it was the EU that stood by it. If there is a problem, it is NATO and the EU that will help us the most."

The Summit focuses on the EU perspective, connectivity, industrial development and cooperation with the Western Balkans, the Government Information Service said.

The forum is hosted by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of Greece and attended by Serbia's Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, Romanian Deputy Prime Minister Ana Birchall and ministers from the region.

Borissov also said: "Our connectivity is geostrategic in every respect. The sooner we see Macedonia join the EU and NATO, the better for Bulgaria and Greece." He noted that some things are hard to accept, such as decades-long historical conflicts, and asked if this was good for business.

"Isn't it good to have connections between Sofia and Skopje and between Sofia and Thessaloniki, as well as a connection between Thessaloniki, Skopje, Tirana and Belgrade?," Borissov asked.

Addressing the leaders of the Balkan countries, Borissov asked what could be better than Greece having an outlet on the Danube, which would advance the Danube, Romanian and Black Sea strategies. "You could have a quay at Bourgas, while Bulgaria and the North could have quays at Thessaloniki and Alexandroupolis," Borissov told Tsipras.

Borissov recalled the idea announced at the November 2 quadrilateral high-level meeting in the Bulgarian Black Sea port of Varna for modernizing the Bourgas-Alexandroupolis railway.

In his speech the Bulgarian Prime Minister also focused on important regional infrastructure facilities and gas connectivity. Borissov said that at the moment "there is nothing to stop us in the further development of our trade relations and connectivity".
LI/DD, ZH



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