Greek, Bulgarian ministers meet in Sofia over interconnectivity collaboration

Athens, Greece.- Greek State Minister Stavros Papastavrou met with Bulgarian Finance Minister Assen Vassilev in Sofia on Monday, following an invitation by the latter, and discussed expanding collaboration in interconnectivity and networks between the two countries.

The two ministers have been appointed as “contact points for coordinating bilateral collaboration” by their respective prime ministers, during PM Nikolai Denkov’s visit to Athens and meeting with PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis on January 4.

A Greek government statement quoted Papastavrou as saying it was “a great honor” to be in Sofia at Vassilev’s invitation, and noted that “there is a lot of work that we need to do” to speed up bilateral economic collaboration. “Our two countries, Greece and Bulgaria, do not simply maintain good neighborhood relations, but serve as pillars of stability in an unstable environment and before difficult challenges,” Papastavrou said. The focus of interconnectivity, he said, is on the sectors of energy and transport along the vertical North-South corridor.

Vassilev said the two were working on a document of a bilateral agreement that would guarantee connectivity will remain in effect and be built jointly with Greece, as will other economic collaborations. “We expect it to work very well,” he said (NB: informal translation).

The Bulgarian FinMin also spoke of Greece’s strong support over Bulgaria’s full accession to the Schengen Area (as of March 31, 2024) , and the country’s accession to the Eurozone (expected on January 1, 2025).

During his visit to Sofia, Papastavrou was also scheduled to meet with representatives of the Greek Business Council in Bulgaria.

source: amna.gr

(Photo: L to R, Papastavrou, Vassilev)