Sofia Mayor Fandakova Met with London Mayor Sadiq Khan

Sofia and London will cooperate in the field of air quality, transport, security, Sofia mayor Yordanka Fandakova and the mayor of London Sadiq Khan agreed at a meeting in the British capital, the press officec of Sofia Municiplaity said on 20th of October.

Sadiq Khan said he was impressed by the successful development of Sofia Underground project, which has been expanding in recent years, as well as the actions of Mayor Fandakova to address the problems with air quality.

The co-operation of the mayors is important for partnership between the cities, Sadiq Khan said. In his words, London, Paris, Berlin, Sofia should learn from each other. He gave an example with the saying, "It's better to use something that works than to think of something that does not work," and pointed out that Sofia also had examples he would be happy to use.

In recent years Sofia has been developing very quickly and we are exploring the experience of the major European capitals in various areas, Yordanka Fandakova said and noted that she would be happy to cooperate with London. Mayor Sadiq Khan expressed readiness for expert assistance in various areas.

In transport policies, Sadiq Khan said it was important to develop the share of urban transport and to find the balance between the various road users - pedestrians, cyclists and cars. To improve air quality in London, a congestion charge is introduced in central London and penalties for cars that cause air pollution.

The Mayor of London also shared his idea of turning Oxford Street, Europe's longest shopping street into a pedestrian zone. For the past year, the number of buses on the street has dropped by 60%, Sadiq Khan said.

During the meeting, the Mayor of London thanked the mayor of Sofia and the Bulgarians in London, who he called Londoners, and stressed that they were "part of our community." Khan said that the Bulgarians in London are hardworking, honest and pay their taxes.

The meeting, which was held in the building of London City Hall, was attended by Nikolai Stoynev, Deputy Chairman of Sofia Municipal Council; Evgeni Krousev, Deputy Mayor of Sofia in charge of Transport and Transport Communications; Vladimir Danailov - Executive Director of the Municipal Agency and the Ambassador of Bulgaria to the UK Konstantin Dimitrov.

source: BTA