“The strategic partnership between Bulgaria and the US is extremely important not only for our country, but also for the region.” This is what President Rosen Plevneliev said, who received Victoria Nuland, Assistant US Secretary of State for European and Eurasian affairs at 2 Dondukov street today.
Rosen Plevneliev expressed his satisfaction with the strategic partnership between Bulgaria and the US, which was reconfirmed during US Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit in our country last year. The successful functioning of the working groups on developing the strategic dialogue in the security and defense, energy security, rule of law, and education sectors and the cooperation between the peoples of Bulgaria and the US was highlighted. The newly-established group for fighting terrorism has started working.
The President said that the working groups have already produced concrete results, among which are the signing of the final investment decision on building the gas inter-connector between Bulgaria and Greece and providing a cyclotron for the implementation of the project on establishing a “National Cyclotron Center” at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
The Head of State pointed out that Bulgaria is implementing the Readiness Action Plan, adopted at the NATO summit in Wales, and increasing defense spending. “I initiated a meeting of the Consultative Council for National Security which made a decision on increasing the defense budget from 1.19 percent of the GDP in 2015 to 1.35 percent in 2016 and a gradual increase to 2 percent in 2024,” Rosen Plevneliev said. The President also highlighted the importance of the activated NATO Force Integration Unit in Sofia in September 2015.
“As an active and reliable NATO and EU member state, Bulgaria is a factor of stability and an engine of the integration processes in the Balkans,” the Head of State said. The President and the Assistant US Secretary of State highlighted the importance of the strong democratic institutions and the active civil societies.
The Bulgarian side highly appreciates the role of the US Initiative for guaranteeing the security of the allies in Europe, including joint military exercises as well. Bulgaria and the US will strengthen their cooperation also in the sphere of cyber security, it emerged at the talks.
Rosen Plevneliev and Victora Nuland also discussed the cooperation between the two countries in the energy security sector. The two countries voiced hope that the construction and the subsequent operation of the inter-connector between Bulgaria and Greece will begin as soon as possible. The Head of State added that our country supports the speeded up construction of the South gas corridor and the South – North gas corridor and also the establishment of a regional energy bourse. The development of the trade relations and attracting more US investments in Bulgaria in particular was highlighted as a key priority.
The President and the Assistant US Secretary of State also discussed the progress on key reforms for the country, with an emphasis placed on judicial reform.