Bulgaria and Estonia will cooperate in the field of digitalization and new technologies
19 January 2024 News
At the invitation of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mariya Gabriel, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Estonia Margus Tsahkna paid an official visit to Sofia.
Both ministers discussed a wide range of bilateral issues of mutual interest and topical issues on the international agenda. Key among them were the opportunities for deepening cooperation in the areas of investment, innovation and new technologies, digitalisation, cyber-security and green energy.
‘Bulgaria highly values our excellent bilateral relations with Estonia. Estonia is our friend and partner. As EU member states and NATO allies, we share common values and a vision for the future. We united around the need to continue our support for Ukraine, to strengthen NATO's capabilities, the importance of Black Sea security, the green transition and sustainability, our continued support for the EU's enlargement policy’, Deputy Prime Minister Mariya Gabriel said after the meeting.
She expressed her gratitude for Estonia's support for Bulgaria's Schengen membership, including the abolition of land border controls, as well as for the support for Bulgaria's accession to the euro area and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. ‘You know, these are major foreign policy priorities for Bulgaria, on which we are actively working’, Gabriel commented.
The Deputy Prime Minister pointed out that the meeting was a good opportunity to strengthen cooperation in a number of key areas, among which she highlighted digitalization and e-government. She said that the interest of Estonian companies for investment presence in Bulgaria in areas related to new technologies and innovation was discussed. An exchange of business delegations has been agreed to jointly identify strategic areas to strengthen the partnership.
‘For us, Estonia is the digital champion of Europe. Bulgaria has the ambition to be a regional innovation leader. I am sure that together we can make cooperation between the two countries bring even more benefits to citizens and make public services even more efficient’, Deputy Prime Minister Gabriel said.
‘We want to work together to meet the challenges — climate, innovation, science technology and energy diversification, for Europe's sovereignty’, Minister Tsahkna said.
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