ministry of foreign affairs
Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zahareva met in Brussels with Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó, according to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry.
The two officials have discussed bilateral relations, options for furtherance of cooperation in energy and economy, as well as the prospects of the Western Balkans, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry has said.
Zaharieva and Péter Szijjártó have stated that work on regional energy projects should speed up to allow diversification not only of routes but also of supply sources.
The European Commission (EC) has already supported Bulgaria’s initiative for the ‘’Balkan’’ gas hub aimed to contribute into building a competitive and liberalized gas market.
Deputy MP Zaharieva has presented plans for creating interconnectors and terminals for liquefied gas in the region.
The two ministers also discussed their interaction with the Western Balkans during the Bulgarian EU Council Presidency in the first half of 2018 and the Hungarian Presidency of the Visegrad Group on July 1, 2017 for 12 months.
"The only right way for the region is countries to have a European perspective," Zaharieva said. The European path in the Balkans is also a priority of the Hungarian Presidency of the Visegrad Group and of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU.
Minister Szijjártó highlighted the excellent relations in the business field between Budapest and Sofia. Hungary is among the most important economic partners in Bulgaria and is among the top 10 foreign investors with EUR 1114.5 million in direct investment for the period 2002-2017, with the turnover of 2016 being EUR 1 388.0 million.
According to official data, the Bulgarian community in Hungary has 6,000 people and is one of the 13 officially recognized minorities in the country.