NEWS

President Rumen Radev: Bulgaria Is Striving to Attract More US Investments in IT and Innovations

The Head of State held a meeting with US Congress Members as part of the Three Seas Initiative

Bulgaria is striving to attract more US investments in the fields of information technology and innovations. The US is one of the technological leaders in the world and successful bilateral partnerships in fields of high added value should be developed, stated President Rumen Radev at a meeting with a delegation from the US Congress, led by Senators Ben Cardin and Roger Wicker, and Representative Joe Wilson. The discussion was held as part of the Sixth Three Seas Initiative Summit. The Bulgarian Head of State is hosting the international event, bringing together the Presidents and heads of delegations of the 12 participating EU Member States and the strategic partners – USA, the European Commission and Germany. The forum is being held on the 8^th and 9^th of July in the National Palace of Culture in Sofia.

The Members of Congress assured the Bulgarian Head of State of the consistent support of the US for the Three Seas Initiative, including its Investment Fund. They also pointed out the contribution of the Three Seas Initiative to energy diversification in the region and to the development of infrastructure connectivity between countries in Central and Eastern Europe, which is of importance for the sustainable development of a united and prosperous Europe.

Bilateral partnership in combatting corruption was also discussed during the meeting. The sanctions imposed by the US under the Global Magnitsky Act on Bulgarian citizens and companies is a clear sign in support of the efforts of civil society to achieve tangible results in establishing rule of law, President Radev noted. “Corruption is an enemy of good governance practices and of democracy,” the Members of the US Congress underlined. They also raised the issue of the condition of the media environment in Bulgaria, which is in 112^th place in the international Reporters Without Borders ranking of media freedom. The Head of State said that media freedom is one of the foundations of democracy and that complete clarification of media funding in the country is necessary, especially regarding financing from state institutions and under European funds. The President further emphasised that there is a direct relation between high levels of corruption in a country and the lack of media freedom.

Bilateral partnership in the field of cybersecurity and defence was also discussed during the meeting.