Minister Ivan Kondov met with US Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Bulgaria Mr. Kenneth Merten
17 September 2024 NewsThe Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ivan Kondov, met today with the US Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Bulgaria, Mr. Kenneth Merten. The discussion focused on Bulgaria’s inclusion in the US Visa Waiver Programme.
‘Bulgaria’s inclusion in the US Visa Waiver Programme is of utmost importance and will demonstrate the strategic nature of the relations between our two countries’, Minister Kondov stressed. He pointed out that by the end of the year, an information campaign will be launched to raise public awareness about the program and to explain the conditions and process of applying for a visa to the United States. The aim of the campaign is to lower the refusal rate, which is a necessary criterion for the abolition of visas. Ambassador Merten confirmed the readiness of the Embassy in Sofia to continue assisting Bulgaria in its efforts to join the Programme.
In the course of the conversation Minister Kondov also raised the issue of concluding a Social Security Agreement between Bulgaria and the USA, which would be in the interest of Bulgarian citizens working or living in the USA.
The two sides also discussed the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria and the US State Department on countering foreign manipulation of information, signed within the second session of the Bulgaria-US Strategic Dialogue, held on 25 September 2023 in Washington. The document establishes a framework for cooperation with the United States in countering foreign manipulation of information through strategy development and capacity building. Both sides confirmed their readiness to continue working together on the implementation of the Memorandum.
Priority regional and global issues were also addressed during the meeting.