Egypt is Bulgaria’s biggest trade and economic partner in the Middle East. The positive dynamics in the bilateral trade in the past years and the good political dialogue show that there is a great potential for cooperation to become stronger in a lot of spheres of mutual interest. This is what President Rumen Radev said at a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri, who is visiting Bulgaria. President Rumen Radev’s visit in Egypt in 2019 will focus on the prospects for strengthening the economic partnership and the implementation of concrete joint projects between the two states.
The trade between Bulgaria and Egypt has been permanently growing in the past years and it reached one billion US dollars in 2017. Rumen Radev and Sameh Shoukri highlighted security, defense, military training, agriculture, energy and tourism as spheres of mutual interest, which have a potential for stronger cooperation. The Bulgarian companies have an interest to invest, it is necessary to specify the sectors in which this can happen, the Bulgarian Head of State said.
Rumen Radev noted that Bulgaria supports Egypt’s efforts to fight terrorism, radical extremism and to counteract migration. Minister Sameh Shoukri briefed President Radev on the actions Egypt takes to protect the European border from migration flows. “Europe should encourage the countries which work to ensure security and stability in the region,” the President said. Rumen Radev added that that the EU should take more decisive measures to support the countries the refugees come from by developing programs in the social sphere, education, employment, and also to ensure equipment for protecting their borders.