site.btaEconomy Minister Petko Nikolov to Stay On in Next Caretaker Government

Caretaker Minister of Economy and Industry Petko Nikolov accepted Prime Minister-designate Goritsa Grancharova-Kozhareva's invitation to stay on in the next caretaker government, Nikolov's ministry told BTA on Wednesday. Nikolov and Grancharova-Kozhareva had a meeting on Monday.

Earlier on Wednesday, caretaker Minister of Energy Vladimir Malinov said he has been invited to meet with the Prime Minister-designate this week.

Caretaker Minister of Finance Lyudmila Petkova has said she has responded positively to Grancharova-Kozhareva's request to keep her job.

Caretaker Minister of Innovation and Growth Rosen Karadimov was in the National Assembly building on Tuesday but declined to say whether his visit had to do with talks about his possible participation in the next caretaker government.

At the end of last week, after meeting with President Rumen Radev, Prime Minister-designate Goritsa Grancharova-Kozhareva told journalists she was starting talks with the incumbent government ministers and other experts. She said: "I will form a cabinet which can ensure the normal functioning of the state until a regular government is formed." She noted that the most important task of a caretaker government is to organize snap parliamentary elections.