Deputy Prime Minister Zaharieva talks with Peter Navarro, special envoy of President Trump and Director of the Office of Trade and Industry
03 April 2019 News
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva had a meeting in Washington with the special assistant to President Trump and Director of the Office of Trade and Industry, Dr. Peter Navarro. The key point of the meeting was the active bilateral dialog and the excellent strategic partnership between the two countries, as well as the priority issues on the bilateral agenda between Bulgaria and the US.
Ms. Zaharieva briefed her host on the results Bulgaria achieved during its first Presidency of the Council of the EU, as well as the country’s good economic indicators.
‘All the statistics we have been receiving about the Bulgarian economy are excellent,’ was Mr. Navarro’s comment. He was impressed by the low level of unemployment in Bulgaria and the potential of the country’s human capital in the area of science and high technology.
Your achievements are impressive, Dr. Navarro commented.
The two parties also discussed the efforts of the Bulgarian government for diversification of the country’s energy mix: progress in the project of building a gas interconnector with Greece as part of the Southern Gas Corridor and Bulgaria’s interest in participating in the project for an LNG terminal in the Greek city of Alexandroupolis. Ms. Zaharieva underscored that Bulgaria has the ambition to grow into a regional distribution center, through the building of the Balkan Gas Hub at Varna.
Ekaterina Zaharieva presented to Dr. Navarro our country’s rationale for starting negotiations for membership of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development; in turn, the American party said that it is considering Bulgaria’s candidacy in earnest.
In 2018, Bulgaria was struck off the ‘Watch List’ of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) with respect to intellectual property protection (on which our country had appeared for five consecutive years).
This is a serious accomplishment for the Bulgarian institutions that sends a strong positive signal to the foreign investors; it is also a prerequisite for a higher interest in Bulgaria on the part of US businesses. American companies are increasing their interest in Bulgaria in the high-tech domain.
Preliminary statistical data from 2018 indicate a 26% growth in the visible trade between the two countries, to US$ 903.6 million.
With respect to defense cooperation, the Foreign Minister briefed Dr. Navarro about the decision of the Bulgarian government to select and start negotiations with the government of the US on the purchase of eight F-16V Block 70 aircraft, as well as about our country’s preparedness to fulfil ahead of deadline its commitment within NATO to allocate 2 percent of its GDP on an annual basis for defense purposes.
Another evidence of the high level of cooperation between Bulgaria and the US has been the meeting between Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and Vice President Mike Pence of the US during the security conference in Munich, as well as his meeting with Secretary of State Pompeo in September 2018; as well as the bilateral meetings of Ms. Zaharieva and Mr. Pompeo during her visit to Washington.