site.btaParliament Chair Zhelyazkov: Bulgarian-Swiss Economic Ties Have Significant Development Potential

Bulgaria and Switzerland have significant potential to develop their bilateral economic ties, National Assembly Chair Rosen Zhelyazkov said at a meeting with Swiss National Council President Eric Nussbaumer, Parliament's press centre said Monday. Zhelyazkov paid a visit to Switzerland at the invitation of his Swiss colleague. 

On the Bulgarian delegation was the chair of the parliamentary Bulgaria-Switzerland friendship group, Zhecho Stankov.

At the meeting, Zhelyazkov said that Switzerland is an important economic partner of Bulgaria. He also said his country sees additional opportunities for cooperation in economic fields with high value added and for attracting more Swiss investments. Potential Swiss investors could be interested in scientific research, integration of new tech, innovation, IT, and digital platforms in Bulgaria, Zhelyazkov noted. The two countries maintain active cooperation in the fields of innovation, research and development, he added.

Zhelyazkov described as traditionally good, pragmatic, and beneficial the bilateral relations and dynamic cooperation in the EU-Switzerland context. The Bulgarian National Assembly is interested in more active parliamentary cooperation, and the friendship group with Switzerland is a precondition for greater dynamics in the bilateral parliamentary contacts, he said.

Zhelyazkov thanked for Switzerland's help within the Bulgarian-Swiss Cooperation Programme for reducing economic and social inequalities within the enlarged EU. The programme is used successfully in the fields of scientific research and development, IT and new technologies, and counter-corruption. He also thanked for Switzerland's constant support for Bulgaria's accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. "We will put every effort into finalizing as soon as possible the process of reviewing the accession," he said.

The heads of the two countries' parliaments reconfirmed Bulgaria's and Switzerland's firm positions condemning Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. "We are completely committed to the strong and single response of NATO and the EU to the Russian military aggression against Ukraine and the provision of our joint strategically important support for Ukraine," Zhelyzkov said.