There is incredible potential for increasing cooperation and connectivity among countries in the region, declared US President Joe Biden in a video address to the Sixth Three Seas Initiative Summit in Sofia
The Central and Eastern Europe Region will be increasingly attractive to large-scale strategic investments, thanks to the strengthened cooperation within the Three Seas Initiative, stated President Rumen Radev at the opening of the Presidential Panel of the Business Forum within the Sixth Three Seas Initiative Summit. Bulgaria hosts the international event, bringing together presidents and leaders of delegations of the 12 participating countries in the EU and the strategic partners – USA, the European Commission and Germany. The forum is being held on the 8th and 9th of July in the National Palace of Culture in Sofia.
Mr. Rumen Radev declared that the Three Seas Initiative has proven itself as a platform for dialogue to identify strategic guidelines for accelerating economic growth through transport, energy and digital connectivity for overcoming the lagging behind of our region as compared to Western Europe, as well as for achieving a more coherent, united and prosperous Europe.
“We are realists, and we are well aware that this is an extremely difficult and ambitious goal, as the necessary funds by far exceed available resources. But in the meantime, we well know what huge potential we have that can be unleashed through leveraging the power of collaboration,” the President pointed out. Mr. Rumen Radev identified the significant investment interest, promoting innovative forms for smart growth and creating working business partnerships as key factors to success.
Mr. Rumen Radev emphasised the contribution of the Investment Fund created two years ago to the implementation of a new approach to mobilising private capital, sending a clear signal to business. “In just the last months, we have had the first three investments, one in each field – energy, transport and digitalisation. We hope that these dynamics will further speed up,” the Head of State said.
Competitiveness and economic growth require developing smart solutions in energy, transport and digitalisation, and harnessing active cooperation at the research and innovation stage, the President pointed out. Mr. Rumen Radev expressed Bulgaria’s ambition to achieve much greater connectivity in the field of science, education, technology and innovation, and to develop the potential of young people in the region to remain engaged with its development. A meeting of research and development and innovation agencies from the countries participating in the Initiative is organised within the Forum with the hopes of coming to an agreement for networking in the future.
In his speech, the Head of State pointed out that, without active cooperation with neighbours in energy and transport, synergy along the North-South axis could not be fully complete, and welcomed the joint invitation to the President of Greece to be a guest at the forum.
“There is incredible potential for increasing cooperation and connectivity among this group, which will enhance the security and prosperity of the region, and, quite frankly, benefit the world,” US President Joseph Biden declared in his video message to the Presidential Panel of the Three Seas Initiative Business Forum. President Biden expressed the support of the USA for the actions of countries in the Initiative to enhance integration and connectivity, which strengthens the link with the European institutions and leads to achieving the long-held goal of a whole, free and peaceful Europe. Joseph Biden called for building more sustainable and environmentally friendly economies, and for investment in high-quality infrastructure, eliminating corruption, which deprives many countries of their chances for success.
The President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, expressed his support for the goals of the Three Seas Initiative for enhancing connectivity and security in the region. “We want to actively contribute towards this aim by engaging even more, especially when and where concrete projects contribute to our joint vision of a greener Europe,” Mr. Steinmeier noted. As a country in the heart of Europe, Germany is greatly interested in enhancing the North-South and East-West connections and cohesion between Eastern and Western Europe.