“Turkey and Bulgaria have always been trusted partners in the field of energy in our region. In addition to bilateral cooperation, the contract between “Botas“ and Bulgargaz“ includes infrastructure that will also contribute to the energy security of Europe.“ This was said in an interview with BTA by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in a comment on the possibility of revising the contract between the Turkish energy company “Botas“ and the Bulgarian “Bulgargaz“.
“This topic has been discussed by the two companies for a long time through constructive dialogue. They are in contact for a review guided by the principle of achieving mutual benefit, protecting the commercial and legal interests of both countries and in accordance with the current situation. Our goal is to further develop our relations by signing a comprehensive energy cooperation agreement, which will include increasing the natural gas transmission capacity between Turkey and Bulgaria,“, said Hakan Fidan.
Transport connectivity, increasing border capacity and the possibility of opening new border crossings were also among the topics that were identified as priorities in bilateral relations in the context of building new transport corridors in the region.
“Events in recent years have very clearly shown the strategic importance of energy, transport and communication connectivity. From the perspective of the security and resilience of global supply chains, the development of new transport corridors is no longer a choice but a necessity. In this scope, the Trans-Caspian International Middle East-West Corridor comes to the fore as an increasingly secure and attractive route", commented Hakan Fidan.
"Turkey attributes strategic importance to this corridor. In addition, the “Development Road“ project (from Iraq to Turkey – ed. note) and other transport investments aim to make trade between Europe and Asia faster, safer and more fruitful. Turkey is at the heart of global logistics and is a key country for connectivity", he also pointed out.
"Bulgaria is the door that opens to the European markets to which these transport corridors lead. Therefore, close cooperation in facilitating customs activities, increasing the capacity of border crossings, digitalizing the process and accelerating the transfer process is important," Fidan said.
"Bulgaria is not only a transit country for this logistical flow passing through Turkey, but it also stands out as one of the partners that will benefit the most economically as a logistics and distribution center for these routes. During my visit, we will take all steps that will contribute to these projects", said the Turkish Foreign Minister.
Hakan Fidan described the relations between Bulgaria and Turkey as extremely successful. Among the examples of this, he highlighted the goal of increasing trade exchange to 10 billion dollars and the alliance within NATO.