I want to congratulate Viktor Orban for his sober assessment of geopolitical processes and the challenges we face. For his clear vision for the development of his country and Europe, for his courage to defend his positions and for his strong leadership. I also share the conviction that a priority for Europe is the achievement and restoration of peace on the continent with the leading role of diplomacy. Peace without which it is unthinkable to talk about security and sustainability of socio-economic development. Therefore, this topic should be a leading one for European leaders. This was stated by President Rumen Radev to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
The Head of State emphasized that Bulgaria will continue to be a reliable partner in energy and contribute to the security of supplies and diversification of energy resources for our allies and partners from Central and Eastern Europe.
In the coming weeks, memorandums are expected to be signed to expand cooperation between the two countries in the field of connectivity and transport, and in particular for the use of the ports in Varna and Burgas, in the field of defense industry and security, as well as tourism, Radev explained. He emphasized that Hungary is an important investor in our country.
The President noted the day on which the Hungarian Prime Minister is visiting our country. “Today is Ignazden and according to the belief - whoever first guest comes to the house today, that will be the year. I am glad that our first guest is Viktor Orban and I believe that a much better year awaits us for our relations, peoples and Europe”, he pointed out.
Earlier, the two leaders held a meeting at “Dondukov” 2. Orban is visiting Bulgaria at the invitation of Radev.
I am here for two reasons. The first is to celebrate Bulgaria's acceptance into land Schengen.
This was stated by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
"Back in May, we signed an agreement with Mr. President, in which we agreed on Bulgaria's full membership in Schengen. We worked hard and from January 1, we will already have the result of our cooperation. I am glad that this happened during the Hungarian presidency of the EU. We are all happy and satisfied that Bulgaria is a full member of Schengen. Nobody wants to be on the second line in Europe and this decision puts an end to this injustice for Bulgaria. We are all aware of how many benefits Sofia's Schengen membership will bring to both Bulgaria and the EU, both for the development of trade and the economy", Orbán added.
"Secondly, I am here to discuss bilateral economic relations. I want to thank Mr. President, who has always supported us and worked for our excellent bilateral relations in these changing times. Bulgaria has always been a key country for our security, especially after the start of the war in Ukraine. 85% of our economy works with gas and we strive to provide this gas through Bulgaria. Last year we imported 5.6 billion cubic meters of gas through Bulgaria, and this year 7 billion. Bulgaria helped us a lot for this and we want to thank it for this help. We also talked about our military cooperation. Both countries want to raise the level of this cooperation. "We will work to bring Hungarian investors to Bulgaria and vice versa, Bulgarian investors to Hungary. I think we are successfully ending the year and once again I thank Mr. President Radev," concluded Viktor Orban.