Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev held talks with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, who was on an official visit to Bulgaria on Monday.
“Visa-free trips for Georgian citizens in the EU should become a fact as soon as possible,” President Rosen Plevneliev said during the meeting.
“Bulgaria welcomes the fast and sustainable progress registered by Georgia in the implementation of the plan for visa regime liberalisation with the EU and there are no grounds to postpone this decision,” the Bulgarian Head of State remarked.
President Plevneliev and Prime Minister Garibashvili stressed on the strong ties between the Bulgarian and the Georgian nations, which should be developed further.
The Bulgarian President expressed explicit support for Georgia’s European and European-Atlantic integration, as it is a reliable partner of the EU and NATO in the region.
The two officials also acknowledged the key importance of the connectivity in the Black Sea region and the serious potential for cooperation in strategic infrastructure and energy projects.
The two countries back the realisation of the Southern Corridor, while Georgia is an important partner in the projects for diversification of the natural gas sources and routes for Europe and Bulgaria.
Bulgaria and Georgia have strong interest in the realisation of China’s project for a construction of a railway transport corridor along the Silk Road connecting Asia and Europe, as acknowledged at the meeting.
The opportunities for encouragement of the bilateral trade and economic cooperation and Bulgaria’s support for the realisation of the reforms undertaken by Georgia were another accent in the talks between the Bulgarian President and the Georgian Prime Minister.
Georgia will count on Bulgaria’s practical support for the realisation of key reforms and for the improvement of country’s legislation.
The two officials also pointed at the potential for cooperation in the field of transport and logistics, energy, information and communication technologies, pharmacy, agriculture and food production.
“Georgia should use Bulgaria’s possibility to set the regional agenda,” President Plevneliev remarked.
The Bulgarian Head of State reminded that our country was chairing the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP), as well as the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.
“In September 2016, on the other hand, Bulgaria will chair the meeting of the presidents within the Arraiolos Meeting, which is an opportunity to discuss key issues concerning the countries in the Black Sea region,” Mr Plevneliev remarked.