site.btaUPDATED Caretaker PM Glavchev: Bulgaria Guarantees Regional Stability

Bulgaria is a guarantee of stability in the region and will continue to work with its partners, caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev Monday said in a welcome address read at the opening of the Vienna Economic Forum - Sofia Meeting 2024. The address was read by read out by Boyko Vassilev, journalist and moderator of the meeting, which discusses current challenges and opportunities facing the regional and global economy. 

The forum bridges and supports countries applying for EU and Euro-Atlantic membership. The Forum is a place where new markets, new investments, new projects and goals are identified to be achieved locally and globally. The region is facing many challenges, which are consequences of the pandemic and encapsulation of the world, followed by armed conflicts and a major effect on the economy. It has affected both the economy and business. The Vienna Economic Forum takes the opportunity to face these challenges by promoting cooperation in South-Eastern Europe, Glavchev said in his written address. 

The forum explores infrastructure, the disruption of supply chains in all countries in the region, and what must be done to ensure economic progress and stability in the region. Full membership of regional and international organisations is what allows Bulgaria to fully join the Schengen area and it is this that will have a positive effect on the provision of services and the cross-border mobility of workers, not only from Bulgaria but also from other countries, the caretaker Prime Minister said. 

According to Glavchev, Bulgaria's full membership in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is another priority that will ensure regional stability. Bulgaria needs to accelerate the stabilization and integration of the Western Balkan countries, and it is crucial to fully exploit the potential of bilateral agreements with partners in the Western Balkans. It will ensure economic development and political stability, but also assistance for these countries. Efforts will have to focus on building the missing infrastructure and ensuring energy connectivity, the welcome address read. 

The Prime Minister wished all forum participants success and to find solutions to the problems related to regional cooperation. 

The event is regularly organized in the spring in each member state to promote regional economic cooperation as part of the European and global positioning of active economic entities. The Forum highlights the success and the great role of economic cooperation between entrepreneurs from the Vienna Economic Forum member countries Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia, Turkiye and Ukraine.