NEWS

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres thanks President Rumen Radev for Bulgaria's active support for the European prospects of the Western Balkans

The UN highly appreciates Bulgaria's active participation in the organization's work, especially our country's efforts to reaffirm its position as a factor for stability in South-eastern Europe and its role in promoting the European integration of its neighbouring countries. This is what UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said at a meeting with President Rumen Radev. He welcomed the signing of the bilateral agreement between Bulgaria and Republic Macedonia for good neighbourly relations that sends a powerful positive message to the entire region. The support for the European prospects of the countries from the Western Balkans will be the focus of attention during Bulgaria's upcoming presidency of the Council of the EU, President Radev pointed out.

The two leaders took a common stance that the ongoing crises in the Middle East and North Africa pose a threat to international peace and security and this requires that joint action should be taken on the part of the UN and its member states with a view to resolving the crisis. Antonio Guterres welcomed Bulgaria's accession to the Action plan for Libya, as well as the support that our country provides to the activities of UN's special envoy on the issues of Libya, Ghassan Salame, in his attempts to stabilize the situation in this country.

Rumen Radev and Antonio Guterres were unanimous that the adoption of the UN's Global Compact for Migration is a significant step toward resolving this problem, both with regard to the migrants' countries of origin and to the countries that the migrants are headed to. It was highlighted at the meeting that the support for the economic and social development of the migrants' countries of origin, the respect for human rights and the fight against illegal human trafficking are key measures in this respect.