An effective foreign policy requires clear goals and priorities, formed by consensus in our country and defended with one voice by our diplomatic community abroad. To implement our priorities, we need a comprehensive foreign policy strategy with concrete mechanisms. This is what President Rumen Radev said in his address to the heads of the Bulgarian diplomatic and consular missions abroad, who gathered today in Sofia to participate in the traditional annual conference of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
President Radev said that Bulgarian diplomats are called upon to defend Bulgaria's interests in the world with dignity and honour, which in the current situation requires particularly great efforts given the current challenges, including the dynamics of the geopolitical processes, the deteriorated security environment and the strong competition in the economic sphere. "This puts great demands on the diplomatic community to achieve the foreign policy goals set out in our Constitution, to be the face of Bulgaria before the world and the voice of our interests, to strengthen our country's role and its authority in the alliances we are members of," the Head of State said. As a priority of our foreign policy, he also highlighted defending the interests and rights of Bulgarian communities abroad, strengthening trade and economic ties. Rumen Radev said that in order to achieve these goals, it is necessary to improve the financial and logistical support of the diplomatic missions, as well as to have well-trained staff in order for Bulgaria to defend its interests.
As an example of the necessity of clearly formulating priorities and defending them, the President pointed out that only after Bulgaria brought to the forefront in our position on the European path of the Republic of North Macedonia the protection of the rights of Bulgarians and the Copenhagen criteria in general, our European partners have started to show understanding for the problems in our relations with this country. A good and balanced solution has been found, Rumen Radev said, adding that Bulgaria should help the neighbouring country to respect the European principles of treating citizens in the country.
In the context of our national security and the war in Ukraine, the President pointed out that Bulgaria should make active efforts to support all forms of multilateral cooperation leading to an immediate cessation of hostilities, the establishment of peace, limiting the destructive consequences and a return to relations between states based on international law. At the same time, Bulgaria should increase its overall defence capacity, operational capabilities and the modernisation of the Bulgarian army, and President Radev focused on the need for Bulgaria to implement small but effective projects related to surveillance, intelligence, communication, management and coordination systems, which should be linked in a single information space with the major projects in the modernisation process. The efforts of our diplomats are needed to select the best weapons from our partners and find innovative solutions, the President said. Referring to the infantry fighting vehicle project, he expressed the expectation that the government would work to develop industrial cooperation so that our country would participate in production and carry out repairs. "Bulgaria has repeatedly set an example that it can be an active member in the EU and NATO and has made clear, serious, constructive proposals that are in the interest of our common defence capacity to enhance security," the Head of State said, recalling our country's contribution to the initiation of the North Atlantic Defence Innovation Accelerator.
As Bulgaria's main priority, the President pointed to the deepening of our European integration, which encompasses our country's full membership in Schengen and, in the future, in the Eurozone, as well as our inclusion in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The Head of State stressed the need for active efforts at a high diplomatic, political and expert level for our country's entry into the Schengen area, striking a balance in the actions in response to the reservations expressed by two member states. The President recalled that in order to more effectively secure the EU's external border, Bulgaria has initiated a working group for cooperation and information exchange to interrupt and neutralise international financial flows that control illegal migration from various parts of Europe.
Bulgaria should become a member of the eurozone when the conditions for budget deficit and inflation are actually met through clear and strong economic measures, not through administrative decisions and deadlines, Rumen Radev said, adding that this goal requires targeted actions in the field of economy and attracting investments. Referring to the OECD, the President said that the process of our accession is moving at a good pace, given the process of talks with the Organization, which started in June last year, to carry out reforms, the ultimate goal of which is to improve the quality of education, health care, competitiveness of our country, in order to raise the standard of living of Bulgarian citizens.
Rumen Radev also pointed out that Bulgaria should develop its potential in the energy sector, taking advantage of its geographical position. Bulgaria has not only solved the problem of diversification of energy resources, where we were facing an acute crisis, but we have also become a factor that determines and influences the energy policy of the region, Rumen Radev said. He highlighted the signed agreement with Botas for free access to the liquefied gas terminals and the gas transmission network of Turkiye, as well as the memorandum of understanding with several countries on the proposed by Bulgaria project "Solidarity ring" with the possibility of transporting additional quantities of Azeri gas.
The Head of State emphasised the importance of diplomatic efforts to deepen the connectivity with our neighbouring countries as well as at the regional level. The President gave the example of transport and energy projects that Bulgaria is developing jointly with Greece, Türkiye and Serbia.
The annual conference with the heads of Bulgaria's missions abroad was opened by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maria Gabriel. Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov gave a welcome speech at the beginning and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, addressed the participants by video.