Bulgarian Parliament Speaker, Mihaela Dotsova and Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš Discussed Expanding Bilateral Parliamentary and Economic Cooperation

The opportunities for expanding bilateral parliamentary and economic cooperation were discussed by National Assembly Speaker Michaela Dotsova and Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, the Parliament's press office said on September 16.

"I am pleased that you are in Bulgaria and that once again we can reaffirm our desire to expand our traditionally good and warm relations of friendship," Dotsova said.

"As Speaker of the National Assembly, it is extremely important to me that dialogue between the parliaments of our two countries continues to develop," she said.

"I believe that cooperation between the legislative institutions at the level of parliamentary committees and friendship groups is an effective tool for strengthening bilateral relations," Michaela Dotsova added. She also stressed that she was confident that members of the Bulgaria-Czech Republic friendship group in the National Assembly were looking forward to the establishment of a friendship group with Bulgaria in the newly formed Czech parliament, which would expand opportunities for the exchange of views between parliamentarians.

The Speaker of the National Assembly noted that Bulgaria attaches great importance to constructive cooperation in the "Visegrád Four Plus" format, as well as through the EU Strategy for the Danube Region. Under the Danube Region Programme 2021-2027 alone, 50 Bulgarian and 44 Czech partners are jointly participating in 36 projects, providing a good basis for further deepening bilateral relations, Mihaela Dotsova added.

She also highlighted the importance of the Bulgarian-Czech business forum as a key economic event that would contribute to strengthening trade, economic and investment relations and to building new strategic partnerships between companies from the two countries.

Bulgaria has the potential to expand exports of high value-added products, including electronics, pharmaceuticals, IT services, as well as food and beverages, which are already well established on the Czech market, the Speaker of the National Assembly said.

The talks between National Assembly Speaker Michaela Dotsova and the Czech prime minister also covered cooperation in the energy sector, opportunities for diversifying gas supplies in south-eastern Europe, the draft EU Multiannual Financial Framework and the two countries' priorities regarding it, as well as efforts to ensure that the views of EU member states are adequately reflected.

PHOTOS: PRESS CENTER OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said that Bulgaria and the Czech Republic had excellent bilateral relations at both government and parliamentary level. He said he expected a friendship group with Bulgaria to be established soon in the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic, which would help strengthen parliamentary dialogue and expand trade and economic cooperation.

"I hope that you will meet the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Tomio Okamura, in the near future," the Czech prime minister added.