Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs in resignation Maria Gabriel invited the ambassadors to Bulgaria to a farewell meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the department announced, quoted by BTA.
She outlined in detail the concrete results achieved in the last ten months in the field of foreign policy and thanked the heads of diplomatic missions for the fruitful joint work, constructive dialogue and support.
“Unity, mutual respect, pragmatic cooperation and anticipatory actions were guiding principles in my work,” said the resigned Deputy Prime Minister Gabriel. She emphasized that she worked actively to establish Bulgaria as a recognizable, proactive and reliable partner in the EU and NATO. A concrete example of this is keeping the topic of support for Ukraine high on the agenda of the two organizations, demonstrated including by Maria Gabriel's meetings with President Volodymyr Zelensky and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, the announcement notes.
"I worked for the positioning of Bulgaria as a regional leader emphasizing the strategic importance of the Western Balkans and the Black Sea region," said Maria Gabriel. She stressed the importance of improving connectivity in the region – infrastructural, energy, economic, digital, as well as for cooperation in the field of innovation. "Good connectivity creates more opportunities," said Gabriel.
The resigned Deputy Prime Minister also emphasized the results regarding Bulgaria's entry into Schengen with the removal of air and sea border controls, as well as the progress in preparations for Bulgaria's accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Maria Gabriel also paid attention to strategic partnerships with countries in and outside Europe. She recalled that she had deepened partnerships with the United States of America and the United Kingdom. Examples are the Second Session of the Strategic Dialogue between Bulgaria and the USA and the signed important Memorandum of Understanding between Bulgaria and the USA to counter the foreign manipulation of information. A joint declaration of strategic partnership has been adopted with the United Kingdom, covering key areas such as foreign policy, security and defense policy, justice and home affairs, science, innovation, education. “We have given a new impetus to the strategic partnership agreement between Bulgaria and France since 2008, and the Roadmap to it will be updated,” Gabriel added.
The outgoing Deputy Prime Minister thanked for the regular and constructive dialogue with various groups of ambassadors in Bulgaria - the group of ambassadors from the EU, the group of ambassadors from non-EU countries, the ambassadors of the Arab countries and the countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the group of ambassadors from Asia, the group of female ambassadors, as well as that of Bulgarian-speaking ambassadors.
Gabriel also focused on the work done to establish Bulgaria as a regional innovation center, as well as on the creation of a strategic image of the country, which would present the country's history, traditions, culture and successes through the concept of “Brand Bulgaria”.
The outgoing Deputy Prime Minister also emphasized the importance of Bulgaria's first-ever Foreign Policy Strategy, the draft of which was presented earlier today at a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, giving special thanks to all those involved in its development.
Maria Gabriel especially thanked all the employees of the diplomatic service for their high professionalism and dedication to the cause of worthily protecting the Bulgarian national interest.
Resigned Prime Minister Mykola Denkov met with the ambassadors of the European Union, Great Britain, Ukraine and the United States, the government press service announced earlier today.
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Apr 9, 2024 05:33 167