President Radev: “Bulgaria and Greece are Lnked by a Strategic Partnership”

Bulgaria’s Head of State, President Roumen Radev is on an official visit to Greece on 23^rd of June, at the invitation of his Greek counterpart Prokopis Pavlopoulos. This is Radev's first official visit to a country from South East Europe since he became President in January 2017.

President Radev expressed gratitude to the Greek President Pavlopoulos for Greece's support for Bulgaria's EU membership. "Your support for our acceptance in the Schengen area is also of particular importance because this is the only way to ensure an effective fight against illegal trafficking in human beings and against terrorism in the region. It is high time for this to be understood by the other EU member states," Radev said at the start of the meeting.

“We firmly supported the accession of Bulgaria to the EU. We work very well and cooperate in the Union. There is a pending question - the accession of Bulgaria to the Schengen area - something we all support, because we believe that it should be this way and will be,” Pavlopoulos said..

“In the current conditions we understand how much we need to have a united Europe, something that we and you work for. This must be made clear to everyone on a global scale - that a strong Europe, a federal Europe is needed, for which we will work,” the Greek President added.

President Radev described his first visit to the region as a sign that not only the bilateral relations with Greece, but also our partnership in the EU and NATO has a strategic nature for both countries. “In all aspects, it is obvious that Bulgaria and Greece are an example of good neighbourly relations based on European values,” the Bulgarian head of state pointed out.

He noted that Greece and Bulgaria share similar positions on Europe's priority agenda concerning security, migration, economic development, employment, energy and transport connectivity and, in general, the future of Europe.

“The efforts of our countries to tackle illegal migration, to fight against terrorism and to strengthen the cooperation between the Greek and Bulgarian armed forces are among the main factors for ensuring the stability in our region, saturated with tension, President Roumen Radev noted. In conclusion, he expressed confidence that relations between Greece and Bulgaria would continue to move in their ascending path for greater security and the overall development of the Balkan region.

Earlier today, the Bulgarian head of state laid a wreath to the grave of the Unknown Soldier and was met with an official ceremony in front of the President's Palace in Athens. After the meeting, the presidents Radev and Pavlopoulos led the plenary talks between the official delegations.

The programme of the Bulgarian Head of State's visit to Athens also includes meetings with Parliament Speaker Nikos Voutsis as well as with the Mayor of Athens Giorgos Kaminis and later at the Bulgarian Embassy in the Greek capital, the President will talk with Bulgarians living in Greece.

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