Bulgaria and Serbia will work to facilitate ties between business and people on both sides
20 January 2021 News
Ekaterina Zaharieva, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Nikola Selakovic, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia agreed to work actively for even better relations between business and people by improving infrastructure, joint projects and open and pragmatic dialogue at all levels.
"We have been connected for centuries, we have close and pragmatic relations. We manage to implement significant infrastructure projects that are important for the whole region. The fact that even in the days of COVID-19 we manage to maintain the dynamics of our relations, shows how sincere our friendship is", said Minister Zaharieva, who received Nikola Selakovic on his first official visit to Bulgaria.
The two ministers shared the opinion that a good political dialogue is a good basis and stimulus for the development of cooperation. They outlined tourism as one of the most promising sectors, with the increase in the number of visits from both sides of the border in recent years implying the availability of good infrastructure. Completion of the highway from Sofia to the border with Serbia by the end of the year, as well as the opening of new border checkpoints, will be crucial in this regard.
Ministers Zaharieva and Selakovic agreed that the two sides would stimulate work on building another border checkpoint north of the Balkan mountain, to facilitate contacts between citizens and businesses. Ekaterina Zaharieva also stressed the need to continue the good practices built between Sofia and Belgrade at the beginning of the pandemic, by providing green corridors for freight transport and rapid border control.
She recalled the mutual assistance provided by the two countries, noting that Bulgaria had managed to provide high-quality protective clothing for doctors in the neighbouring country, and that Serbia had helped Bulgarian citizens cross its territory and reach their homes.
Bulgaria will continue to support Serbia, including through its official development assistance, Minister Zaharieva assured. In the last four years, our country has provided under the Municipal Development Plan (MDP) BGN 2.5 million for various projects in Serbia. Grant funding of about BGN 435,000 for 8 projects is planned for this year.
One of the focuses of the talks was the Bulgarian national minority in Serbia.
"The Bulgarian national minority is really a bridge and a stimulus for our relations", Ekaterina Zaharieva said. She stressed the need for our compatriots from the Western suburbs to have full access and conditions for learning their mother tongue, by providing textbooks. Nikola Selakovic assured that Serbia is doing everything possible and will work for maximum protection of the rights of the Bulgarian national minority. "We are interested in cooperating in all aspects regarding the status of the Bulgarian national minority", he said.
The two ministers agreed that the two countries would operatively liaise to resolve all issues related to our compatriots in Serbia.
Minister Selakovic thanked Ekaterina Zaharieva for Bulgaria's consistent support on Serbia's path to the European Union. "Our support will continue. It also proved itself during our European presidency with the opening of new negotiating chapters. We want to share our experience", the Bulgarian Foreign Minister said.
Zaharieva and Selakovic also agreed to intensify contacts between Bulgaria and Serbia at the institutional level, and to organize political consultations between the two foreign ministries, which have not been the case since 2015.