site.btaDeputy PM Gabriel Confers with European Commissioners Simson, Kyriakides in Davos

Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel conferred with European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides, and Julie Monaco, Managing Director and Global Head of Citi’s Public Sector Group in the Corporate and Investment Banking division. Gabriel’s meetings took place on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, she said on Facebook on Tuesday.

The three leading topics of the talks were women in diplomacy, Europe's energy independence and the European agenda on health.

Earlier on Tuesday, Gabriel took part in а panel discussion titled "The Three Seas Initiative as an engine for European growth" at the invitation of Atlantic Council President Frederick Kempe, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry reported.

The panel was organized by the Three Seas Hub in Davos on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum. It was hosted by the Polish Development Bank and Europe Centre of the Atlantic Council. The discussion was moderated by American foreign policy and military affairs expert Ian Brzezinski. It involved Brzezinski. The discussion was joined by Nobumitsu Hayashi, Governor of Japan Bank for International Cooperation, and Beata Dashinska-Muzicka, Special Representative of the President of Poland for the Three Seas Initiative.

Gabriel said that the Three Seas Initiative is of strategic importance. By investing in infrastructure, energy security and connectivity between countries and regions, the Initiative turns challenges into opportunities. She also stressed the need to highlight the strengths of the region - harmonized legislation, legal consistency and predictability, free movement of people, services and goods, a dynamic market.

Deputy Prime Minister Gabriel is part of the Bulgarian delegation in Davos, which is led by Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov, the Foreign Ministry said. On Wednesday, Gabriel will participate in a Global Economic Think-Tank roundtable, organized by Bloomberg.