Bulgaria’s PM Borissov met the new US ambassador to Bulgaria

Bulgaria and the USA are allies and strategic partners. Sustainable political dialogue has been established between our two countries at all levels, Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said during his meeting in the Council of Ministers with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States, Herro Mustafa, on October 22.

Prime Minister Borissov congratulated Herro Mustafa on her appointment as ambassador to Sofia and expressed confidence that diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and the United States will continue to grow.

Borissov noted the excellent interaction Bulgaria and the USA have in the area of security and defence - both bilaterally and within NATO. He said that both the current US presidential administration and the Bulgarian government attach great importance to fulfilling the commitment at the NATO Summit in Wales in 2014 to increase defence spending. Borissov stressed that Bulgaria has practically achieved this Euro-Atlantic goal with the contracts for the delivery of F-16 Block 70 aircraft and related equipment and armaments.

Borissov stressed the potential to build on the strategic partnership with the US in other areas such as energy security, high technology development, education, science and culture. According to the Bulgarian Prime Minister, cooperation between Bulgaria and the United States on the development of people-to-people contacts is of particular importance.

According to him, various programmes and initiatives aimed at widening the exchange among students, scientists and business representatives have made a significant contribution in this direction. As a positive trend, PM Borissov also noted that the number of US tourists in Bulgaria has been steadily increasing over the recent few years.

During the talks, PM Borissov was also briefed on Mustafa’s main priorities for the work of the US embassy in Sofia.