Bulgarian PM Kiril Petkov Met with Serbian PM Ana Brnabic and Discussed Cooperation

Prime Minister Kiril Petkov is on an official visit to Serbia at the invitation of Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic. The two gave a joint press conference.

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Bernabic welcomed Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, calling him “our friend”. She congratulated him on his election as Prime Minister and wished him good luck and good luck.

“As I told you at our meeting, you will have the full cooperation of the Government of the Republic of Serbia and my personal, especially while I am in this position, to work together to make relations between Bulgaria and Serbia, both politically and economically stronger and better. Our cooperation is excellent, but I believe it can get even better, especially when we talk about trade and the economy,” Bernabic said.

She also said they would work together and thanked Petkov that Serbia is one of the first countries which the Bulgarian has visited since becoming prime minister. And this is the first visit to Serbia of the Prime Minister of Bulgaria since 2012.

With his visit, Petkov has shown commitment to resolving all outstanding issues so that the Western Balkans can have a clear European perspective.

Brnabic thanked Bulgaria for its support in Serbia's European integration process. The Serbian prime minister has asked for support for the opening of a new negotiating chapter on the economy and competitiveness. Serbia wants to open this chapter during France's EU presidency.

Brnabic also said that they have completed the part of Corridor 10 to the border with Bulgaria and for them, the priority is to modernize the railway line to the border. Many energy infrastructure and gas connectivity projects are also a priority.

With regard to the Bulgarian minority in Serbia, it has been agreed to resolve urgent issues. Brnabic said she hopes to continue intensive cooperation to boost economic and political relations between Serbia and Bulgaria.

“We are like-minded on all topics that unite us - the first is that it is important for the regions to have maximum connectivity so that economic development can go in parallel,” said Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov.

Energy connectivity between the two countries, especially gas, will be a huge priority. The Greek connection through Bulgaria should be completed in June and will enable Serbia to receive liquefied and Azerbaijani gas.

There is great potential to create a single market for gas trade between Bulgaria, Serbia, RNM and Greece, Petkov said.

The section of the highway between Nis and Dimitrovgrad is becoming a top priority for our country. Additional road links between the two countries were also discussed.

“At the same time, we discussed the possibility of bringing together the brains of both countries - startups, starting companies in the IT sector to be able to work together,” said Kiril Petkov.

Meetings between ministers from both countries are planned, with the main task being to eliminate local corruption and e-government to be among the top priorities.

“Serbia's European integration is a huge priority for us, so in us, you have not only friends but also a really supportive partner,” Petkov told Brnabic.

There was also talk of common tourist trails to unite the tourist offerings in Bulgaria and Serbia, possible connections Belgrade-Burgas, Belgrade-Varna.

Consumption volumes from across the region need to be pooled so that we can negotiate better prices.

The capacity to build common facilities, including potential co-investments in the nuclear field, was discussed.

“Especially if Bulgaria manages to make the next project in Kozloduy, it would be good to separate the risk from such a project.”

The de-escalation of tensions in Ukraine must be done through diplomacy, the two prime ministers are adamant.

“Hoping that international law will be respected by all parties to the conflict, in this case, we hope that the Russian Federation will respect international law because this is important for stability in the region,” said the prime minister.

The Bulgarian Prime Minister has already met with Serbian President Alexander Vucic. The program of Kiril Petkov also includes a meeting with the Speaker of the National Assembly Ivica Dacic.

The main topics of discussion are the European integration of Serbia and the Western Balkans, bilateral relations, energy cooperation, infrastructure and economic issues of common interest.

/BNT

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