site.btaForeign Ministries of Bulgaria, Egypt Hold Bilateral Political Consultations

The Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria and Egypt held another round of bilateral political consultations in Cairo on April 22, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. The consultations were led by Bulgarian Deputy Minister Maria Angelieva and Egyptian Deputy Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Central and Northern Europe Wael Hamed.

The political consultations took place after a break of nearly five years in the context of the interest shown by both sides to strengthen bilateral relations, to intensify political dialogue and to seek further opportunities for a sustainable expansion of trade and economic cooperation.

In the course of the talks, the sides reviewed the state of bilateral relations in a number of areas, including opportunities for further expansion of trade and investment. It was noted with satisfaction that over the past year, bilateral trade reached the unprecedented level of over USD 1.8 billion, a fact that has permanently positioned Egypt as Bulgaria's most significant trading partner in the Middle East and Africa region.

The sides discussed the opportunities for Bulgarian companies to position themselves on the Egyptian market in areas such as pharmaceuticals, export of agricultural products and fertilizers, electronic equipment, etc., as well as the wide investment opportunities provided by the Egyptian economy. Deputy Minister Angelieva noted some of the already successfully implemented Bulgarian investments in Egypt in the field of textile and food industry, production of electric trucks, information technology and outsourcing.

Taking into account the huge potential of the bilateral economic cooperation, Bulgaria and Egypt noted the need to take some additional steps in the direction of boosting trade and mutual investments, including the holding of the second session of the Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation and the establishment of a Bulgarian-Egyptian Business Council by the end of this year.

The good level of cooperation between the two countries within the framework of international organizations and in supporting mutual applications was also highlighted. In this regard, Deputy Minister Angelieva handed over a letter on behalf of Minister Georg Georgiev, addressed to Minister of Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Egyptian Expatriates Affairs Badr Abdel Aati, containing an assurance that the Bulgarian side will support the nomination of Prof. Khaled El-Enany for the post of UNESCO Director-General.

A number of topical issues on the regional agenda were also discussed during the consultations.

The two sides agreed to continue an active exchange of views on the issues concerned, with further exchanges of high-level and top-level political visits in the near future.