Bulgaria and Serbia should promote mutual investments and economic partnership in fields of high added value such as IT. It is high time for the economic exchange to surpass trade and for us to work towards the creation of joint productions and export to third markets, stated President Rumen Radev at a meeting alongside Vice President Iliana Iotova with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, Mr. Nikola Selakovi?, as a part of his official visit to Bulgaria.
The Head of State and the Vice President described the first visit of a Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs to Bulgaria since 2014 as a sign that the new Serbian government prioritizes the development of the good neighbourly relations and cooperation between Bulgaria and Serbia. The official visit is also a sign of the mutual commitment to accelerating work on developing the transport and energy infrastructure, connecting the two countries and creating better opportunities for business.
Mr. Nikola Selakovi? pointed out the good economic cooperation between Bulgaria and Serbia, based mainly on results in trade. “In 2019, our trade turnover exceeded EUR 1 billion, but over the past year, affected by the Coronavirus, the turnover reached 870 million in the first 10 months. We have to seek opportunities to increase it,” affirmed the Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The position that the opening of more border crossing control points along the border between Bulgaria and Serbia would promote the development of economic, social and cultural relations between the two states and would turn into a powerful incentive for tourism was shared by both sides.
Mr. Rumen Radev reiterated the Bulgarian support for the European integration of Serbia into the EU and Mr. Selakovi? emphasized that there is no other alternative to the country other than European integration.
During the meeting, President Radev expressed his appreciation of the commitment of President Vu?i? during the state visit of the Bulgarian Head of State in Serbia in June 2018, as well as the actions undertaken for a timely decision of the problems faced by the Bulgarian national minority in the Republic of Serbia – increasing funds for media, broadcasting in Bulgarian, solving the issue with the inflection of female surnames, and developing the regions where our compatriots in Serbia live compactly. Vice President Iotova also expressed her expectations for a timely solution to the issues of education in the Bulgarian language.