Ekaterina Zaharieva: Enormous opportunities for stepping up cooperation between Bulgaria and the Arab countries in trade, investment, the energy sector and tourism

‘The trade exchange between Bulgaria and the countries of the Arab Region totals merely about 2 billion US dollars, which is a minuscule amount if compared with the existing tremendous potential. Bulgarian companies and specialists are well-known among our Arab partners, and the memories they have left behind in those countries are wholly positive. The opportunities for successfully strengthening our cooperation with the Arab countries in trade, in engineering and investment activities, in the energy sector and in tourism are enormous.’ This was one of the key points in the statement made by Ekaterina Zaharieva, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, at today’s working lunch with the ambassadors of the Arab countries to Bulgaria.

The Bulgarian Foreign Minister recalled that in parallel with the promotion of relations with the countries in the Western Balkans, which Bulgaria has defined as its national priority and a priority of its Presidency of the Council of the EU, this country has also set itself the goal of working actively for revitalizing its traditionally good relations with the Arab world. ‘I believe that the results of our efforts in the fulfilment of this objective are already visible,’ said Minister Zaharieva. ‘In recent months, we have exchanges several symbolic visits, some of which are of historic significance, while others had been postponed for decades. The visit by prime Minister Borissov to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been without precedent; we are actively preparing a top level visit to Kuwait, whereas the Emir of Qatar is due to visit Bulgaria this coming Thursday. Towards the end of March, President Radev will be visiting Israel and Palestine. Despite our busy program with the Presidency of the Council of the EU, I managed to exchange visits with colleagues from the Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait; we have set the dates for a visit by my Algerian counterpart to Sofia in March and for my visit to Oman on April 12, and hopefully in the near future we will have agreed on dates for similar visits with Egypt and Morocco,’ she also said.

‘Our vision does not limit itself to the realization of individual visits; it is a long-term, strategic one. It is not accidental that we are working on opening new diplomatic missions. We have our Embassy in the United Arab Emirates up and running, and we have the one in Saudi Arabia due to open in the nearest future. Like other European countries, we are considering reopening our mission to Libya,’ added the Bulgarian Foreign Minister. Zaharieva went on to underscore that these examples come as evidence that the promotion of ties between Bulgaria and the Arab world invariably has its place as an important domain of Bulgaria’s foreign policy.

Speaking to the ambassadors of countries in the region of the Middle East and North Africa, our top diplomat noted that ties between Bulgaria and their countries are based not just on political dialog and the solid contractual and legal basis and institutional frameworks of bilateral relations, but also on the personal and professional relationships of the people involved. She pointed out that for the thousands of Bulgarian specialists who for decades on end had been working in the Arab world, it had become a home away from home, while the thousands of Arab students who had graduated from Bulgarian universities are now holding lofty positions in their respective countries. In that context, Zaharieva and the ambassadors of the Arab countries declared their shared understanding that their countries need to bring up to date their bilateral agreements with Bulgaria in the areas of the economy, tourism, education and culture. ‘I shall rely in your support. There are many more tasks facing us still, there is a lot we can learn from each other, for example in the area of tourism. The revitalization of our political dialog is a fact but there is a lot for us to work on,’ said our top diplomat.

The Foreign Minister noted that Bulgaria’s membership of the European Union affords additional opportunities for a qualitative growth in our mutual ties with the countries in the Arab world, while the EU’s Southern Neighborhood policy is in the focus of attention of Bulgaria as the rotational President of the Council of the EU. Raising the level of political dialog between the EU and the Arab League, identifying and pursuing common policies within the Union for the Mediterranean, reinvigorating the dialog between the EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council are among the most important initiatives in this context, as well as matters for discussion at almost every session of the Foreign Affairs Council  of the European Union, our top diplomat pointed out.

The Bulgarian Foreign Minister and the ambassadors of the Arab countries in Sofia also discussed the current local conflicts: the war in Syria, the conflict in Yemen and the crisis in Libya. Special attention was given to the prospects for the Middle East Peace Process, which was described as one of the key issues for the countries in the region. In light of the challenges facing the countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and the serious global impact of the regional conflicts there, Zaharieva underscored that a permanent restoration of security and stability in the region must be among the leading priorities of today’s politics. She emphasized that finding a sustainable solution to the conflicts while improving the social and economic environment in the countries affected by such conflicts is of paramount importance. Zaharieva went on to say that despite the significant successes achieved in the fight against Islamic State, politicians cannot afford to be naïve, as the ISIS cells migrate into neighboring countries, into Central Asian nations and the countries of Europe. ‘It is up to all of you and all of us, together, to address the challenges,’ Zaharieva declared in no uncertain terms.

The working lunch, hosted by the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassador of Palestine, H.E. Ahmed al-Madbuh, was attended by the following ambassadors: H.E. Ilham Ahmed, Ambassador of Sudan; H.E. Latifa Benazza, Ambassador of Algeria; H.E. Jacub Alatici, Ambassador of Kuwait; H.E. Rashid Al Khater, Ambassador of Qatar; H.E. Zakiya el Midawi, Ambassador of Morocco; H.E. Moayad Eldali, Ambassador of Egypt; H.E. Abdel Wahab al Najar, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates; H.E. Abdulrazaq Al-Amrani, Ambassador of Yemen; H.E. Sofiyan El Triqe, Ambassador of Libya; and the acting chiefs of mission of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Abdulilah al Jibreen, and of Iraq, Mwayed Ali.