Europe

Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec visits Bulgaria to enhance Business Cooperation

Bulgaria and Slovenia strengthen their support for the integration of the western balkan states into Europe

June 13th, 2016
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On 1st and 2nd June Minister Erjavec paid an official visit to Bulgaria, where he attended a summit of the South East Cooperation Process (SEECP) and opened the Consulate of the Republic of Slovenia in Sofia, which is headed by an honorary consul.

Minister Erjavec was accompanied by the business delegation of representatives of twelve Slovenian companies, consisting of representatives of businesses operating in defence, IT, commerce, electrical industry and energy. They met Bulgarian business partners and representatives of Bulgarian institutions. Minister Erjavec was received by his host, Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov, as well as President Rosen Plevneliev and the President of the Bulgarian National Assembly, Tsetska Tsacheva Dangovska.

Both Slovenian and Bulgarian representatives agreed that positive trends have been observed in business cooperation between the two countries, but also that both countries should encourage more business and official contacts with one another. “The Slovenian economy offers favourable conditions to Bulgarian business, and we also see such perspectives for Slovenian business in Bulgaria,” Mr Erjavec noted. The opportunities for a further expansion of the economic cooperation will be the focus of the Head of State’s forthcoming visit to Slovenia in July 2016. The ICT sector and the exchange of students and experts in this sector were highlighted as most promising.

Open and fruitful dialogue was established on bilateral relations, the Western Balkans, Ukraine, migration, and other current international issues. The talks also focused on migration and the importance of protecting the EU’s external borders. Minister Erjavec called for the implementation of the EU-Turkey Agreement and an appropriate approach to addressing the causes of migration. They agreed that Macedonia urgently requires assistance and support to overcome the political crisis and to hold democratic elections, with a view to securing its future within Euro-Atlantic structures.

References

Cultural Diplomacy News
Urska Celig, CD News