Bulgaria and Saudi Arabia to Pursue Strategic Partnership
21 February 2018 News
‘Bulgaria attaches key importance to promoting its relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. There is substantial potential for cooperation between our two countries in different sectors of strategic significance. You are our valued partner both in the context of multilateral diplomacy and in the areas of the economy, investments, security, the fight against terrorism and radicalization,’ Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva told her Saudi counterpart, Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, who was on a visit to Sofia earlier today.
At a joint press conference after their meeting, the two Foreign Ministers outlined the areas of promoting cooperation between Bulgaria and the Saudi Kingdom:
‘This is the first visit of a Saudi Foreign Minister and a wonderful opportunity for us to discuss how to deepen our bilateral relations, while also working together for dealing with global challenges,’ said Adel Al-Jubeir.
‘We had many topics for discussion that we touched upon today. There are other important visits in the pipeline,’ noted Minister Zaharieva, adding that the Bulgarian Government was looking forward in the near future to a top-level visit by His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, at the invitation of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov.
‘We have a clear action plan that will very soon bring about the implementation of concrete programs and projects visible to the citizens of both our countries,’ Zaharieva also noted. ‘The areas in which we have discussed cooperation today include infrastructure construction, the IT sector and high technology, agriculture, the energy sector, the exchange of expertise in robotics. It is hardly accidental that the robot Sophia is the first robot ever to be granted citizenship and that it is a proud citizen of Saudi Arabia,’ said our top diplomat.
In the framework of their meeting today, Zaharieva and Adel Al-Jubeir also discussed the favorable conditions Bulgaria provides to foreign investors. According to our top diplomat, various Bulgarian companies could join as contractors in the implementation of the Vision 2030 Saudi development strategy proposed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman.
An emphasis in the talks between the two ministers was placed on the EU Neighborhood Policy towards the Southern Mediterranean, as well as peace and security in the Gulf Region. ‘Bulgaria stands by its traditionally good relationships with all countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and would support any constructive effort to iron out the recently emerging disagreements between some of its member states,’ Zaharieva pointed out during the meeting.
‘We discussed cooperation in counterterrorism and the detection and eradication of the root causes for extremism and radicalization,’ said the Bulgarian Foreign Minister at the press conference, underscoring that Bulgaria and Saudi Arabia are both part of the global coalition in the fight against ISIS.
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