President Radev, Swiss President Discuss Continuation of Bulgarian-Swiss Program

“We discussed the prospects of continuing the Swiss-Bulgarian Cooperation programme after 2019, when the current one expires. We are confident and believe that this programme should continue because it is not just a source of financing, but also offers a different model for organizing our society in various important areas of life” Bulgaria’s President Roumen Radev said on 2^nd of November at a joint press conference with Swiss President Doris Leuthard, who is on an official visit to Bulgaria.

This is the second official visit of a Swiss president to Sofia in the history of bilateral relations since the first visit in 2003. President Radev noted that today's visit is a continuation of long-standing relations between Switzerland and Bulgaria in a spirit of partnership and understanding, shared values and a European spirit.

The two presidents have discussed varioud matters, not only those related to bilateral relations but also affecting regional, European and world issues. The Bulgarian President has noted with satisfaction the increasing activity of bilateral economic ties. In 2016, two way trade amounted to 260 million euro and Switzerland is the ninth largest investor in Bulgaria with more than 1.8 billion euro over the past 20 years. We discussed the ways in which this cooperation will be expanded, especially in the area of investment, development of small and medium-sized enterprises, of the IT sector, Radev said.

The President expressed his satisfaction with the Swiss-Bulgarian programme, which he described as particularly effective and which has covered many areas related to the judicial reform, the rule of law, security, the environment and, most importantly, education. The project DOMINO ( the Bulgarian abbreviation of "Dual Education for the Modern Requirements and Needs of the Society") launched a really new approach to dual education and training in Bulgaria, provided a good example of how education, young people and business interests can be linked, President Radev said.

The Bulgarian Head of State pointed out that the visit of the Swiss President takes place at a very important moment for Bulgaria when the country takes over the Presidency of the Council of the EU and should work in such a way as to best coordinate the efforts of the European institutions to preserve the unity of the Union and to increase the confidence of European citizens in these institutions.

According to Radev, Bulgaria has clear messages related to competitiveness, consensus, and especially with a future cohesion policy. In this respect, we are grateful to Switzerland that although you are not a member of the EU, you are continuing with your cohesive support, Radev said. The President has also identified the Western Balkans as a very important priority.

The two presidents have discussed important issues on Europe's agenda such as security, the migration crisis and importance for Bulgaria to join Schengen because, in President Radev’s words, this is the way in which Bulgaria can contribute to the common European security , for the control and protection of the external European borders. In this respect, we feel the solid support of Switzerland, for which we thank, Radev noted and expressed hope that, with this opinion and influence on the issue, Bulgaria will soon be a member of the Schengen area. We appreciate Switzerland's efforts for greater security in Europe through participating in various missions, Roumen Radev said.

source: BTA

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