Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov has renewed his invitation to US President Barack Obama for a visit in Sofia.

Parvanov welcomed Tuesday US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Gordon, who is on a trip to Bulgaria, Greece, and Slovakia.

Bulgaria, a key US ally in Southeast Europe, has been hoping for a visit by US President Barack Obama since he was elected two years ago.

According to the Presidency press office, Gordon has told Parvanov the US supported Bulgaria's efforts to fight corruption and organized crime, which would then have a positive effect on attracting FDI.

Both parties have stressed Bulgaria's role for the stability of the Bankans and for the EU integration of the Western Balkan states, and have expressed hopes that the dispute between Greece and Macedonia over the latter's name will be resolved soon.

Parvanov also said he hopes the United States will lend active support for the efforts to launch the so called Southern Gas Corridor, the route expected to bring Caspian Sea and Central Asian gas to the EU, and the diversification of Europe's energy supplies, which includes the Nabucco gas transit pipeline.

The Southern Gas Corridor entails the construction of several pipelines, such as Nabucco (running from Turkey to Austria and Germany via Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary), ITGI (Interconnection Turkey-Greece-Italy), White Stream (known also as the Georgia-Ukraine-EU pipeline) and TAP (the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline), aiming to bring gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe.

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