PM Borissov and US Ambassador Herro Mustafa discuss Bulgaria-US partnership

Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borissov met with US Ambassador Herro Mustafa on January 6. The focus of the talks was the forthcoming First Session of the Bulgaria-US Strategic Dialogue, which will be held on January 8 in Bulgaria with the participation of US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale and his delegation.

The strategic partnership between Bulgaria and the US was discussed during the meeting and a framework was agreed with specific areas of cooperation during Borissov's visit to the White House last November.

"The Bulgaria-US Strategic Dialogue is critical to the development of relations between the two countries. The aim is to achieve specific results in key areas of mutual interest such as security and defence, counter-terrorism, energy security, law enforcement, education, ties between the peoples by building upon the partnership," said Prime Minister Borissov.

In the course of the talks, the excellent relations between Bulgaria and the USA in the field of security and defence, both bilaterally and within NATO, were noted. Other issues from the area of the rule of law were discussed.

The Prime Minister stressed that Bulgaria has an interest in further deepening of trade and economic relations with the United States while maintaining the positive tendency for sustainable growth of bilateral trade.

The meeting highlighted the importance of the cooperation between Bulgaria and the USA in the area of energy, which has the potential to contribute to strengthening Bulgaria’s energy security and diversification of energy sources and routes, including through import of liquefied natural gas.

Prime Minister Borissov and Ambassador Mustafa discussed more topical issues on the international agenda. The meeting was also attended by Jessica Kim, a legal advisor at the US Embassy in Bulgaria