site.btaUPDATED President Radev Confers with Hungarian Prime Minister Orban in Sofia
President Rumen Radev Friday held a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban here on Friday. The talks focused on further deepening the bilateral relations between Bulgaria and Hungary, the security environment in the region and topics on the European Union agenda.
Orban is visiting Bulgaria at the invitation of the head of State.
After the meeting, the two gave a joint briefing.
Radev said that Bulgaria and Hungary share the conviction that Europe's priority is to achieve peace with diplomacy playing a leading role. The head of State congratulated Orban on his sober assessment of the geopolitical processes and the challenges ahead.
Priority topics that he listed were boosting European competitiveness, restoring the prosperity of European citizens, tackling illegal migration effectively, strengthening Christian and family values.
The President reported that the two countries are planning to sign memorandums in the coming weeks to expand their cooperation in the fields of connectivity and transport, the use of the Black Sea ports of Varna and Burgas, in the defence and security industries, as well as in tourism.
Orban told the briefing that as President of Bulgaria, Radev has always strived to develop the economic ties between the two countries and has given stability. Bulgaria has always been a key country for Hungary, Orban said, underscoring that last year, Hungary imported 5.6 billion cubic metres of gas through Bulgaria, as 85% of the Hungarian economy relies on gas. In his words, Hungary has a nuclear power plant but cannot get fuel from Ukraine, and only Bulgaria can help Hungary with this. He expressed his country's gratitude to Bulgaria for making these supplies possible.
Orban recalled that during his meeting with the Bulgarian President in May in Budapest the two had set a common goal: Bulgaria's accession to Schengen. He noted that the hard work will pay dividends on January 1, 2025. The Prime Minister expressed satisfaction that Bulgaria's full accession to Schengen was confirmed during the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
He reported that his country is interested in cooperation with Bulgaria in the field of defence and military industry.
/DS/
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